
Book . 






Copyriglit}!^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



MARRIAGES 



MARRIAGES 



DEATHS 



DEATHS 



MEMORANDUM 




THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, 
Age 30 Years; Height 6 Feet 



SIMPSON'S BIBLE 

A Comparison of Science and Religion 

THE GREAT MORAL WAY 

OF 

FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS 

BY 

THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON 

n 



A Song, "I Wish I Was a Baby"— The Fine Stones of 
the Earth and Their Value — How the Earth Was Made 
and When Formed — What Causes Earthquakes and Vol- 
canoes — The First Existence of the Human Race — What Con- 
stitutes the Universalum Orbit of the Universe — The Eternal 
Things That Never Were Created Nor Cease to Exist — Hu- 
man Beings Are Composed of Four Eternal Things — The 
Sectarian, Fanatical, Denominational Expounders — The Two 
Great Barnacles of the Human Race — Mythology Expound- 
ing Eternal Life — The Great Number of Hallucinations and 
Exaggerations — Saint John's Jerusalem, 1,500 Miles Square 
and High — True Religion and Great Moral Way for All 
Mankind — What Constitutes God and Truthful Theology 



The One Hundred and Thirty-Sixth Year of the Inde- 
pendence of the United States 

1912 






^1^ 



Copyright, 19C9 

by 

Thomas Jefferson Simpson 



0» 



<e 



£ ni.Al^l 4276 



Nixon-Jones Ptg. Co. 
St. Louis 



THE TRUE COURSE OF LIFE. 

FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS 

AS PER SIMPSON'S BIBLE 

THE GREAT MORAL WAY. 

Make no gifts to God. Sympathize with the af- 
flicted and unfortunate. Give nothing to Fakirs, Gam- 
blers, priests or preachers. Have charity for all, but 
more for deserving ones. Live for to demand right 
and justice by human laws. Live so as neither to ex- 
pect reward or punishment after death. Live honestly, 
justly and righteously with all the human race. All 
your treasury laid up in heaven to your credit would 
not sell for ten cents on any market on earth. The 
true way, the right way, the just way, the honest way, 
is the way to all the Heaven you will ever know on this 
earth or after death. The great eternal intelligence 
God is perfect, existing every place in the eternal ethe- 
real space and inhnitude, governed by eternal fixed rules 
that never change, and to which nothing can be added 
to or taken from. No homage, no worship, no adora- 
tion, no love, no glorification, no beseeching, no im- 
ploring, no supplication, no entreating, no solicitation, 
no request, no importunity or prayer to God is not now, 
or ever has been, nor never will be answered, and can 
only result in just so much lost wind which is the 
stock in trade of the priests and preachers, and come 
to the church members at a high price. 

3 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, M. D. 

My great-grandfather started from England to Vir- 
ginia with his young wife, and my grandfather was 
born on the ocean, and his father and mother both 
died on the ocean and were buried in the ocean. The 
ladies of the ship saved the child, and when .they 
landed in Virginia they gave the child (my grand- 
father) to a man whose name was Miller, who raised 
him and gave him the name of Miller. He joined 
Washington's army at fourteen years of age, as 
a substitute for his foster-father, and re-enlisted 
and served until the war ended in victory. 
Plis foster-father had no other heirs and left 
him thirty thousand dollars, which he lost by 
going security for a horse and negro trader, 
who lost all his money gambling, and Grandfather 
Miller turned over thirty kegs of silver with one thou- 
sand dollars in each keg, and paid the debt ; went to 
southern Kentucky, took up land there, and made him- 
self a home there; and enlisted again under Andrew 
Jackson, and participated in the Battle of New Or- 
leans, and his daughter, Mariah Miller, was my mother. 
My grandfather, John Simpson, came from near Edin- 
burgh, Scotland, and landed in Virginia, five years 
after the close of the Revolutionary War; and he, too, 
went to Kentucky, and on Licking River married a 
Miss Hashaw, then settled in southern Kentucky, and 
while returning from the Battle of New Orleans he 
made the acquaintance of Miller, and took land and 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 5 

settled near him, and it was his son, Andrew Simpson, 
that married Mariah Miller and these two became my 
father and mother long after they moved to Missouri, 
I being the sixth child and sixth son. I was born on 
the Simpson farm in section fifteen, township forty- 
three of range sixteen, in Moniteau County, Missouri. 
When I was five years old I went to school just one 
day, and I learned the whole of the alphabet in the 
forenoon, and it pleased the teacher so well he let me 
sleep under a shadetree all the afternoon. From that 
time until I was near fifteen years old, my education 
was neglected for the want of resources. When I was 
fifteen years old I learned the multiplication table com- 
plete in five hours, and answered every question cor- 
rectly; and the teacher told it at the exhibition as a 
thing never heard of before, and said that I could learn 
more and do it faster than any one he had ever seen, 
and that he had been constantly teaching school for 
the past seven years ; that I entered the school in the 
six-year-old class, and that I had literally, in less than 
three months, crawled up and got on top of the school. 
Then after sex^eral school terms I entered the Dalla- 
matter School at where Clarksburg now stands. With 
over 125 attendance, many of whom were young men 
and women, I was put in the eleven and twelve year 
old class, and in less than six months I had again 
crawled up and got on top of the school ; and 
the teacher was called away on urgent business. 
He left me in charge of the school, and I gave perfect 
satisfaction to the school and the teacher. It was dur- 
ing this term that South Carolina seceded and Fort 
Sumpter was fired on. Lincoln took his seat and old 
Buchanan slunked away in disgrace, after turning over 



6 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

all the arms and munitions of war to the rebels. I had 
the promise of the appointment to "West Point by both 
Senator Green and Congressman Woodson, but Green 
and Woodson both went with the rebels and I stood 
for the Union, and captured the first rebel soldier, 
with his double-barreled shotgun loaded with thirty- 
six buckshot, and I fired the first gun in the war in 
Moniteau County, Missouri. I was offered a captain's 
commission to enter the Union army, but my brother 
sympathized with the rebel Confederacy, and threat- 
ened if I went in the Union army he would go into the 
Confederate army, and our mother would be left alone 
and our home not cared for and unprotected, and my 
education needed further attention, and for these rea- 
sons Idid not enter the Union army. I began studying 
geology and mineralogy when I was twelve years old, 
and before I was fourteen years old I had dug four 
shafts in the earth to find coal, and struck coal in every 
one of them. At fifteen I had found and opened one of 
the greatest mines in the State ; that after continuous 
operation for over fifty years, it is not half exhausted. 
In fishing and hunting I was considered an expert. 
One goose hunt footed up twenty-four dead geese and 
twenty-four live geese in three hours. Eight turkeys in 
four hours. Eight quail flying at one shot. Two- 
bushel sack full of prairie chickens in five hours. Toled 
up and killed by poisoning enough crows, hawks and 
owls to fill a wagon bed in one day. When I was 
twelve years old I fenced the stackyard with hornet 
nests by going after night, plugging up the holes, then 
sawing ofif the limbs or bushes they were on and carry- 
ing and placing them around the stackyard, and when 
I had six so located I went around and removed the 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 7 

plugs. There was no other fence needed, but I just 
had fun galore seeing the stock leave the stackyard 
double-quick, day or night, rain or shine not a straw 
could be taken. 

In the last part of my fourteenth and first part of 
my fifteenth year, I helped to cut and saw the large 
red oak tree, and with my own hands split, shaved and 
edged the shingles, took the old roof of¥ and put new 
roof on quite a large house for those days, and per- 
formed the work so well that it did good service with- 
out a leak for thirty-four years. I also made an addi- 
tion to the house 12x28 feet, and dressed the rough, 
hard-seasoned oak with the jack and four planes, and 
made the doors of fine walnut. I was my own appren- 
tice. I never had to learn a trade; the tools and job 
was all that was necessary. I could always make my 
own drafts for buildings, bridges or other structures, 
either in stone, brick, wood or metals, and could follow 
the draft and do the work, let it be fine or coarse. In 
my fifteenth and -sixteenth years I was going to school, 
mining, running farms and trading in stock, and from 
that time until I was twenty-one I mostly put in ab- 
sorbing book education, and all my life since I have 
made the study of geology, mineralogy, the science of 
the earth, the heavens, the eternal things and the eter- 
nal, unlimited infinitude as a special study, combined 
with human worship of all the human race deduced 
from facts, and actual truths existing, or obtained hy- 
pothetically or otherwise. I have read and studied the 
Bible from Genesis to Revelations, and studied it not 
with insane fear and trembling, but with a full and 
determined resolution to measure and weigh the exact 
meaning, as well as all the underlying objects to be ac- 



8 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

complished by the wording and meaning as measured 
and weighed by the greatest gift of intelHgence (God) 
to man, Human Reasons, and by so doing deduced the 
true facts and truths therein to be found. Every fact, 
every truth, every error and every fraction of either 
fact, truth or error, was measured and weighed in the 
balance of Human Reasons, and where founcLunsound. 
unreasonable, untruthful, false or erroneous, were ac 
once canceled, as no such can or could emanate from 
God, and only have existence as a negative to give 
meaning to the real things. The Intelligence (God) of 
the earth, the heavens, the eternal unlimited ethereal 
space and infinitude is not made up of that kind of 
stuff and silly twaddle. 

In my twenty-second and twenty-third years I had 
crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Isthmus of 
Panama, visited Mexico, California, crossed the Sierra 
Nevada mountains twice through deep snow and 
swam the rivers with my clothes and blankets on my 
back, spent eight months in Nevada making mining- 
discoveries, traveling footsore over the Blackrock and 
other alkali deserts making good Indians. I also 
visited Bear river, Pitt river, Sacramento river and 
Valley, Cottonwood, Scott's river. Mount Shasta, 
Shasta valley, Sheep rock, Humbug creek, Klamath 
river, Yreka City and all the towns and cities through 
Oregon to Portland, the Dalles -and drove the first 
wagon that rolled into Idaho city, and while waiting 
the forenoon for the finishing of a bridge, I cut with 
a carving knife 125 pounds of bunch-grass hay, which 
was worth in Idaho City that evening fifty-five dollars 
in gold or one hundred and thirty-two dollars in green- 
backs : and was there when flour was worth three dol- 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 9 



iars per pound and other eatables in proportion : Nails, 
50 cents per pound; lumber, $200.00 per 1000 feet; 
board $30.00 per week, for sleeping inside of the house 
on the bare floor with your own blankets $1.00 per 
night. I worked at lock and gunsmithing at Yreka 
and Idaho city, run packtrains from Boise valley to 
Idaho city. Erected buildings, run restaurant, sold 
eggs at 50 cents each, cup of coffee and two doughnuts 
50 cents. Was in that business 28 days and made a 
clear profit of $750.00. Left Idaho city June 5th 1867, 
went extensively through Montana and arrived at the 
mouth of Cow creek on the Missouri river August 19th 
1867. 

From the 20th of August until the 19th of Decem- 
ber, 1867, when I was on a river boat on its way from 
Fort Benton to St. Louis, with about four hundred 
passengers aboard, and hanging on sand bars nearly 
every day, on one five days, on another eleven days, 
and still on others, until the boat was out of anything 
to eat; we were on half rations for ten days, then on 
quarter rations for five days, then fourteen days the 
table was never set nor food tasted, except rosebuds 
and some elm bark. Old Red Cloud on one side of the 
river and old Sitting Bull on the other side. Two men, 
Blackmore and Anderson, ventured half a mile from 
the boat. Anderson was killed. Blackmore escaped. 
I was one that went out, drove Indians back and helped 
bury Anderson, who had $1,700.00 in gold dust in the 
boat safe, which I suppose was pocketed by the man 
v.'ith the key. One family was near freezing to death. 
I went and laid the matter before the commander of 
United States Fort, and got blankets and soldiers' 
clothes for them. I saw bacon sell for ten dollars a 



10 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

pound. I saw salt sold for its weight in gold. That 
was the time when money lost its value. Early in 
the morning a gang of prairie chickens passed over the 
boat and halted on a hill half a mile away from the 
boat. When I saw a whole company of soldiers start 
after them, I went the other way, hoping I might find 
a rabbit. I was nearing a grove of big Cottonwood 
trees when the soldiers flushed the chickens and they 
lighted on the very tops of these big trees. I made 
quick two shots of over 150 yards with my Colt re- 
volver and killed a chicken at each shot, when they flew 
once more and were gone. I heard a soldier holler out : 
"See that man kill the two chickens a half a mile with 
a pistol." I returned to the boat the lion of the occa- 
sion. I was met with a great acclaim as I went up the 
gang plank. I was offered eighty dollars each for the 
chickens. Then came the greatest trial of my life. I 
had not tasted food for fourteen days, but there were 
two families of small children on that boat and they 
were nearly dead. I just went and gave each family a 
chicken, and walked away to gnaw elm bark and rose- 
buds, if I could find any. The next day Captain Smith 
of the boat bought two barrels of flour and one barrel 
of sugar of a trapper for an enormous price. I got to 
my part, as a first-class passenger, eleven small bis- 
cuits, one teacup of sugar and a glass of water, and ate 
it all without stopping, as, if I kept any, it would be 
likely stolen. That was the best dinner I have so far 
ever eaten in my life. But my conscience was clear — 
I had saved the children. Clagett's family, delegate 
to Congress from Montana, and the other was Phillip 
Stephen's family, of Moniteau County, Missouri. 

I arrived at home Christmas day, was absent five 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 11 

years six months and twenty-five days, and during 
that time I had made $26,000.00, and lost $20,000.00 
by fires in Idaho city, and had $6,000.00 left. I have put 
in twenty-five years mining, farming, trading in stock 
and selling mules in the southern country. Run saw- 
mill one year. Owned and run big flour mill in Minne- 
sota four and one-half years and have been a physician 
over thirty years. Have taken out a number of patents. 
I am a dealer in real estate, but still I have found time 
nights and Sundays to write this book, to assist the 
human race to see their way clearly from the facts, 
truths aiid reasons therein clearly proven. 

Every debt or obligation I ever contracted or was 
security for was paid in full. Seven times during my 
life I have been in an ace of death, and every time by 
accident, and it has always seemed to me that the great 
ruling power of the Eternal and Unlimited Intelligence, 
that controls all infinitude, caused the danger to move 
aside, that I yet live for some noble purpose. The re- 
hearsal of these accidents and miraculous escapes 
would be interesting, did space permit, but mere facts 
must suffice. I never used coffee, as it does not support 
life. I never used tobacco in any form, and have all 
my life considered its use a filthy nuisance. Alcoholic 
liquors have all my life been kept in my home and used 
as medicine, and in the same way by my parents, and 
there never was one of the family drunk, disorderly, or 
was ever arrested for an offense. My moral character 
and honest intent will stand investigation in any of the 
many localities in which I have lived. My object in 
writing this book is to get the people to learn the facts, 
to see and understand the truths, and to avoid false 
worship based on falsehoods and misrepresentations in 



12 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

order to mislead the ignorant people in order to get 
money and wealth for the support of priests and 
preachers. 

WHAT THE PRESS SAYS. 

Dr. T. J. Simpson, of Neosho, who makes the cure 
of consumption a success, spent a few days in Sedalia. 
Dr. Simpson is probably the best posted man in Mis- 
souri on mineralogy and geology, and seems to have 
the faculty of finding more curiosities or freaks of na- 
ture in stones or stone formations than fall to the lot 
of our greatest scientific men. While here he showed 
us three flint stones that probably no substance in the 
world is harder, except diamond. In one is shown a 
perfect human eye. Then another stone showing a per- 
fect onion, as if it were cut right through the middle, 
which for rarity and beauty exceeds anything ever 
found on this earth. No diamond, opal, ruby or other 
precious stones will compare with this matchless curi- 
osity. Then another stone — the wonder of the world — 
it shows a golden surface of the earth with an azure 
blue sky, with the strata turned up into a mountain 
peak, with a volcano in active eruption, belching forth 
a great column of black smoke from- the top of which 
the wind is blowing it away off in one direction, and 
away up above are to be seen black rocks as well as 
two pieces of gold. He said he had others which he has 
not yet developed. He said at one time he had the 
finest cabinet in the state, that he furnished specimens 
to the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, D. C, on 
one of which the carving cost $214. Dr. Simpson is a 
Missourian, born in Moniteau County, where he makes 
his finds and discoveries. — Sedalia Sentinel. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ' 13 

The subject of the above sketch, Dr. T. J. Simpson, 
is well known in Moniteau County and Missouri. At 
the age of fourteen years he dug several shafts into 
tlie earth — remarkable for one of that age — and dis- 
covered and opened one of the greatest mines in the 
state, better known as the Simpson coal, zinc and lead 
mine, which is still being successfully operated. At 
the age of fifteen he was mining, running farms and 
trading in stock. In school he was among the fore- 
most scholars of that day and time, and we are in- 
formed, he was the first man in Moniteau County to 
declare himself for the perpetuity of the Union in the 
great rebellion of 1861 and '65. He got the first five 
men together to resist the Confederacy; captured the 
first war prisoner and his big gun loaded with thirty- 
six buckshot; and he also fired the first gun in the 
war in Moniteau County, Mo. 

Prof. Simpson has large real estate holdings and 
many other interests to look after, as well as healing 
the sick and infirm. Still he takes great pleasure in 
looking up curious and interesting stone formations, 
and bringing to light wonderful lines of intelligence in 
support of the highest order of attainments in science. 
It was he that projected and brought before the Cham- 
ber of Commerce of Kansas City the great north and 
south railroad, to extend from Fort Churchill to the 
Gulf of Mexico by way of St. Joseph and Kansas City, 
which resulted in giving Kansas City the Kansas City 
Southern Railroad, one of the best railroads entering 
the city, and is yet destined to extend to Fort Churchill 
on Hudson's Bay, the finest navigable waters known, 
and give those cities and the central West the greatest 
free advertisement they have ever had, by stating in 



14 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

his communication that he could plow and plant (ex- 
cept at river crossings) from Winnipeg to the Gulf of 
Mexico in the richest and most productive soil on this 
earth, which was published free of cost, both in this 
country and Europe, and the people learned for the 
first time that there existed a paradise on the earth 
where the people and climate are unsurpassed, ^and a 
rich productive soil, where they could plow and plant 
for fifteen hundred miles without a halt, except to eat, 
drink and be merry. It is a well known fact that 150 
miles from Kansas City in all directions is the best 
patch of land for climate, soil, water, productive re- 
sources and progressive people on this earth. — Clarks- 
burg Review. 

In connection with the above will say that Thomas 
Jefferson Simpson is well known in Missouri as a 
pusher in his efforts to develop the resources of Mis- 
souri. The first fish and game laws were written by 
him and put before the legislature and became laws 
just as written. 

It was through him that the charter was taken out 
for the Fort Scott, Jefferson City & St. Louis Rail- 
way Company, which resulted in a railroad from Jef- 
ferson City seventeen miles southwesterly, to which 
was afterward added a tie road to the Osage river. It 
was started to the great southwest but went nowhere. 
He also projected a railroad from Chicago by way of 
Quincy,. I^aris, Centralia, Columbia, California, Leb- 
anon, Little Rock to the gulf, with a branch from some 
point about twelve miles from California to Versailles, 
thence southwest to Carthage, and to be continued to 
the city of Mexico. He had the road secured to the 
Missouri river, on condition that the people of Moni- 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 15 

teau county would put $150,000 in the grade from the 
river to California, which failed for the want of enter- 
prise in the people of California and the county gener- 
ally. The people at Chicago and in north Missouri 
fully realized that if the railroad should get to Cali- 
fornia it would continue to the gulf and would be over 
200 miles shorter than by the Mo. Kan. & Tex. route, 
and would also be the shortest route to the great 
southwest and Mexico; Simpson at the time was 
largely in debt, and was very much in need of money, 
but he expended several hundred dollars in working up 
the enterprise, but it proved a failure because the 
people could not see and realize the future of such an 
enterprise, which would have put California far ahead 
of Sedalia and in all probability with 50,000 population 
and probably with the state capital just southwest of 
the fine flourishing city. While Dr. Simpson has 
passed through great financial troubles and strife, even 
with fists and gun, he has turned all into victory, and, 
being a bachelor, his needs are not large, but when he 
needs money it is at his command, and California 
would feel honored to have him as a citizen should he 
choose to locate within her borders. — California Demo- 
crat. • 



PREFACE 

The object of the contents of this book is to convey 
to the mind of the reader a fair idea of the most im- 
portant things, matters, subjects, religious beliefs, wor- 
ships and laws, that have an existence on the earth, in 
the heavens, or in the eternal unlimited infinitude, 
properly criticized, explained and weighed in the bal- 
ance of Human Reasons, and deducing therefrom the 
proper rules of human life while here on earth. 

Chapter 1. I here present to the mind of the reader 
the one thing in which the whole human race has the 
most vital interest, that which causes more trouble and 
sorrow and more pleasure and happiness than any- 
thing else that this world is heir to, and that is the 
baby, which I have put in verse and song, "I Wish I 
Was a Baby." Introductory, Etc. 

Chapter 2. I here present to the mind of the reader 
the fine stones of the earth and what makes them valu- 
able. Their fine polish, the grandeur of their reflec- 
tions, their prophetic profiles, pictures, and the beauti- 
ful colors they contain, makes them pleasing to the eye, 
valuable in the arts, and as ornaments in buildings and 
homes ; and the great fossil kingdom is of immense ad- 
vantage in obtaining an insight as to structure and 
formation of the earth, as well as all other planets that 
swing apace in their orbits throughout all infinitude. 

Chapter 3. I here present to the mind of the reader 
how the earth was made. It is now a well known fact 
that the earth was formed in strata, and it is also a 

16 



PREFACE. 17 

fact that the lower stratum was formed first, and each 
and every stratum formed on, one after the other, by 
a gradual adhesive process, and that the material en- 
tering into each and every stratum of the different 
kinds of stone was of a very infinitesimal quality, a 
mere aeriform dust, and the only way that the material 
could ever have got into that condition was by hear 
sufiicient to reduce the material to aeriform fluid, and 
thence again formed into the stone strata, so that the 
unforming and reforming is continuous in all matter 
formations throughout all infinitude. 

Chapter 4. I here present to the mind of the reader 
what causes earthquakes and volcanos, and like causes 
produce like effects in all planet formations through- 
out all infinitude. 

Chapter 5. I here present to the mind of the reader 
the human race's first existence on the earth was on 
the great continents around the poles, probably, over 
100,000 years ago, and their progression toward en- 
lightenment and scientific attainments has been very 
slow, as w^e can fully realize when we see at this date 
the amount of ignorance, bigotry and superstition of 
the great majority of the people that claim to be en- 
lightened still existing. 

Chapter 6. I here present to the mind of the reader 
what constitutes the Universalum, or orbit of the uni- 
verse (solar system), by which I wish to convey to the 
human mind the manner of movements of the planets 
and all heavenly bodies of matter in the eternal eth- 
ereal space and infinitude, and to more fully explain 
the unforming and the reforming of the earth and other 
planets, and the ruling and controlling powers of In- 
telligence (God) when acting on and through all the 

2 



18 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Other eternal things that have a coexistence with In- 
telligence (God), and to illustrate the supreme plan 
of eternity and infinitude. 

Chapter 7. I here present to the mind of the reader 
the many eternal things that never were created and 
never will be destroyed nor cease to exist. Each hav- 
ing its own sphere of action to vie with and act in con- 
cert with all the eternal things in all the eternal un- 
limited ethereal space and infinitude. AH ruled over 
and controlled by the eternal unlimited Intelligence 
(God). 

Chapter 8. I here present to the mind of the 
reader, What enters into the live, intelligent human be- 
ing, and what is the result of dissolution? And how 
the human beings and other animals come on the earth, 
and how they pass away and are replaced, and further 
than that no man can know. 

Chapter 9. I here present to the mind of the reader 
the two great barnacles of the human race, dividing 
the earnings of the ignorant people, and that myth- 
ology, the bulwarks and heavy artillery of all the 
churches, loaded with grape, canister and doubled and 
twisted chain-shot of hell and damnation, the great 
number of hallucinations, exaggerations, unmitigated 
lies, perfidy and falsehoods based on mythological im- 
aginations. 

Chapter 10. I here present to the mind of the 
reader some criticisms on the fabulous lies in the 
Bible which, when the searchlight of Human Reason 
and consistency is turned on these great extravagant, 
overdrawn fabulous statements found in the Bible, they 
cannot but be cast aside as the writings of designing 
priestcraft to overawe the ignorant people, and by such 



PREFACE. 19 

unworthy methods obtain money and wealth from 
them without labor or exposure. The priests and 
preachers howl, beg and threaten damnation after 
death, and the fools, through fear, turn their hard- 
earned money into the priests' or preachers' pockets. 
The rod of Moses turned to a serpent; the waters of 
the sea and river divided ; the Lord cast down great 
stones from Heaven and the ground clave asunder. 

Chapter 11. I here present to the mind of the 
reader the necessity of destroying the filthy, unsightly, 
expensive and entirely unnecessary use of tobacco. It 
has the effect to impoverish the land wherever it is 
grown. It brings poverty and want to the users and 
their families. It depletes education, intelligence, 
stupefies the mind, increases ignorance, prostitution, 
tramps and hobos. The money that is paid for tobacco, 
literally squandered and thrown away, would more 
than furnish all the footwear used in the nation. A 
thing not at all needed, an unsightly, filthy nuisance, 
and its cultivation and use should be prohibited by law 
enforced with a vengeance. I here give the best 
method and most feasible plan to put fully under con- 
trol the use of alcoholic liquors, and I seek the can- 
cellation and eradication of all Sunday laws, as Sun- 
day was and is based on Mythology, purely an inven- 
tion of priestcraft for selfish reasons. Sunday is an 
abridgement of human, conscience. Right now there 
is more business done on Sunday than any other day 
in the week, and there is no valid reason for its being- 
holy, a great hobgoblin and superlative breeder of 
hypocrisy, based on ignorance and superstition, and 
its sacred keeping foisted on mankind was and is for 
pelf, and pelf only, for the support of priest and preach- 



20 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

ercraft, to blow off their ancient, musty, motheaten, 
galore to get the money of the ignorant people. 

Chapter 12. I here present to the mind of the 
reader some facts in regard to Noah's flood. The an- 
cient, bellicose, extraneous, unmitigated, hooknosed 
Jew liar that wrote the story of Noah's flood was prob- 
ably the teacher of the liar that wrote all the rest of 
Genesis. 

Chapter 13. I here present to the mind of the 
readers the structure of human beings and what re- 
sults at segregation. (Death.) 

Chapter 14. I here present to the mind of the, 
reader the shortcomings, indecent, inconsistency and 
irreconcilability of all church worship on the earth. 

Chapter 15. I here present to the mind of the 
reader the lost Books of the scriptures. That we are 
very fortunate that we did not get these lost books of 
the scriptures, and that we would be a hundred times 
more blessed if we never had got any of the books of- 
the old Hebrew scriptures. It will be noticed that it 
is very uncertain as to what the teachings of Christ 
were and is now, and that the old Hebrew and Chris- 
tian Bible is likely far from what it was when written, 
and still it is about the most worthless piece of prop- 
erty that any person can have about the family home. 
In the first place it is so vulgar, obscene and indecent, 
that it destroys chastity by increasing prostitution. 
That King James' translation shows to be faulty and 
incorrect. That the laws of Moses did not come from 
the hand of the Hebrew and Christian mythical God, 
and it is there shown why this vulgar, obscene and 
mythical Bible should be barred from all respectable 
homes. That Christ was first called the son of God by 



PREFACE. 21 

the devils, and that it was Matthew called him the son 
of man. 

Chapter 16. I here present to the mind of the 
reader the fixed rules of life which should be practiced 
by all, as nothing but good can result by so doing. 
That Confucius was a great and worthy man. And 
how human worship first began by the worship of the 
sun, then the fire, and where they got the idea of burnt 
offerings. How the priest, preachers, church members, 
bigots, dupes and henchmen claim that every good 
thing comes from their mythical God, and stoop to all 
kinds of trickery and pollute history and their own 
mythical, Hebrew and Christian Bible as well, to prove 
their claim. How our great people are absorbing more 
Intelligence (God) within them, and the benefits of 
the wonderful things they accomplish radiate to the 
people of the whole world. 

Chapter 17. I here present to the mind of the 
reader that the God idea is of human origin. That 
personal Gods or man Gods, always correspond to the 
character of their worshipers. Please here consider 
the character of the Hebrew and Christian mythical 
God, who created a world with a full knowledge of its 
destiny, and then terrifically cursed it because it failed 
to meet this mythical God's expectations. Then this 
same mythical God swore in his wrath and was jealous 
of strange Gods and graven images. Also take notice 
that right here in the central part of the United States 
of North America, the most enlightened nation on 
earth, near the center of Missouri, six miles southeast 
of the city of Tipton what took place in the name of the 
Hebrew and Christian mythical God. And this same 
mythical God is guilty of outrage, injustice and vanity. 



22 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

And this same God was an all-powerful God. but with 
many mean and detestable ways, hardening old 
Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the people go, 
and then sending upon him and his people a long list 
of horrible plagues to compel him to do the thing he 
hardened his heart to prevent him from doing. Just 
playing a game of hide and seek with Pharaoh and his 
people, 

Paul, the inspired promulgator of divine truths, 
tells us that this Hebrew and Christian heavenly fa- 
ther actually sends his earthly children strong delu- 
sions to believe a lie, that they might all be damned. 
It would look like this fatherly God feared his little 
seven-by-nine heaven would be overstocked, and that 
it was desirable to work ofif the surplus on his left 
bower (Satan), the most honored guest at the feast. 
(Job 1.) This great Jehovah God violates oaths 
and breaks promises. This same mythical God at 
divers times swears to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to 
lead their posterity to the land of Canaan, but made a 
breach of promise and would not keep oaths or prom- 
ises. (Num. 14: 34.) This m3'thical God's per- 
sonal appearance, the psalmist in describing this 
God's wonderful makeup, tells us ''that out of that 
God's mouth proceeded fire, and out of that God's nos- 
trils proceeded smoke, and that same God rode upon a 
cherub and did fly." (2 Sam. 22 : 9-11.) Oh, but that 
was a lovely God. Nothing but Satan would be suited 
for a riding compahion. 

Chapter 18. I here present to the mind of the 
reader. The chief end of man is to glorify God, so says 
the Christian. All such silly twaddle comes from the 
want of a knowledge of what constitutes the impulse 



PREFACE. 23 

of Intelligence (God). God is perfection, and when 
anything is perfect, it cannot be added to, as 
nothing can be made more than perfect. The God of 
all Eternity and throughout all infinitude is always 
with you in proportion as you adapt yourself to re- 
ceive God by allowing yourself to be possessed of an 
untrammeled conscience and wisdom to absorb the 
superlative gift to man, Human Reason, which is the 
open door where Intelligence (God) can enter. Just 
and perfect reasoning absorbs Intelligence, which in 
turn increases the force and power of reason to a still 
greater acquirement to the extent of man's existence 
absorbing more Intelligence (God) within. Those that 
seek will find. Intelligence never leads a human being- 
wrong, but the want of Intelligence is what makes the 
way of the transgressor hard, and brings to them an 
earthly hell, all they will ever know. It is easy to be 
seen that the age when the Bible and mythical man, 
God, ruled supreme, every person b}" priestcraft stood 
the assessments of the church, and when they refused, 
charges were brought against them for witchcraft, 
heresy or even heraclenite (that the earth was not 
created) and they were murdered by church minions 
or burnt at the stake to deter others, and in that way 
forced them to pay whatever the church demanded. 
There was no such thing as freedom. All were Chris- 
tian church slaves. No wonder the priests did not 
marry. They had more than enough to satisfy the lust 
of old David or Solomon. But things are more private 
these days. The confessionals, the nunneries, and a 
slice off a cut loaf is ''not missed." 

Chapter 19. I here present to the mind of the 
reader that perpetual vigilance is imperatively neces- 



24 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

sary to maintain in this country free thought, free 
speech, free, untrammeled human reasons and an in- 
fidel constitution ; all of which are necessary for the 
universal welfare of the whole people. Every human 
being should fully realize that honesty, uprightness and 
moral character, when proven, should stand against 
many charges brought against the accused at the bar of 
justice. I again refer to Sunday, which was and is now 
an invention of priest and preachercraft to increase 
their revenue.. It is a humbug, a great damage to com- 
merce and trade, and the well-being of the human race, 
and all laws in favor of its sacredness or holy pretend 
are an abridgement of human conscience, and should 
be canceled and unrespected by all enlightened people. 
Please take notice that blind, dogmatic, undoubting 
faith, not honesty, morality or uprightness, is what 
constitutes the Hebrew and Christian, and all other, 
modes of worship. Faith in error, lies, fabulous un- 
truths and great extravagant fables, once the faith in 
them is established it is just as strong as if the whole 
were truths. Faith, not supported by facts as measured 
by "human reasons and intelligence, is a myth in all the 
worships of the world. Faith to believe a lie is as 
strong as to believe a truth, where ignorance reigns in- 
stead of intelligence. 

Chapter 20. I here present to the mind of the 
reader some idea of Moses and Joshua. While labor- 
ing under delusions which they only pretend to be- 
lieve were facts, they did the most detestable thing in 
the way of butchery, murder, robbery, ghastly and 
bloodthirsty deeds that the records of the world have 
ever shown, and I hope the reader will investigate the 



PREFACE. 25 

acts of these men and the big unbelievable lies that 
show in their records. 

Chapter 21. I here present to the mind of the 
reader what the ancient records show. O Israel, the 
watch-word of the Jews. What constitutes a disbelief 
in God. Allegorical expression allowable, but being 
mostly untruthful such as applying gender to the many 
Gods, or the many names for the one and only God, 
and the priest or preacher's last stab under the fifth 
rib. The last wail for money. O when you come to 
die, to meet the wrathful, revengeful and jealous God, 
and all because you had taken one of grand-pap's 
watermelons and failed to pay the priests or preachers 
(the unpardonable sin). Depart, ye cursed, into that 
eternal hell of damnation, already overstocked with 
priests and preachers, for obtaining money by big lies 
and deceptions. 

Chapter 22. I here present to the mind of the reader, 
the teachings of Christ, the standard of faith, who 
said: *'I am not here to bring peace on earth, but a 
sword." (Math. 10:34.) Then you must hate your 
fathers and mothers, wives and children, and brothers 
and sisters in order to be a disciple of Christ (Luke, 
14:26), who was lowly born out of reason and out of 
season, as there is only one way possible, by the power 
and force of Intelligence God, by which babies are 
made, and in no other way; and any assertion to the 
contrary by priests, preachers or prelates are erron- 
eous lies. Of the Man-God worshipers there is count- 
ing old people and children of what are called Christ- 
ian nations (of which half or more^are not Christians) 
are estimated to be 300,000,000. Which divided by two 
equal 150,000,000, and when the old people that have 



26 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

learned better, the children and the hypocrites are de- 
ducted, we then get a glimpse of the deluded followers 
of Christ based on the New Testament compiled and 
voted in by an ignorant rabble called the council of 
Nice 325 years after Christ was born in a stable, un- 
educated, raised and tutored by an ignorant Jew car- 
penter called Joseph. About two-thirds of the said 
council disapproved the findings and compilation of 
this book called the New Testament. The Jews say 
that the New Testament is not based on Facts, Truths 
and Reasons, and is a jumble of lies and inconsistency, 
and all learned unbiased investigators believe that the 
Jews are right. 

Chapter 23. I here present to the mind of the read- 
ers the fall of Adam and Eve and the Hebrew and 
Christian scheme of redemption, which is too silly and 
unreasonable to be considered by intelligent people. 
In the beginning God created the heavens and the 
earth (Gen. 1 :1). Now this statement is a lie right on 
the face of it. If there was a beginning it was when 
God began, not when God commenced to work. If 
there was a God there endowed with Intelligence 
Power and Force to make the Heavens, the Earth and 
all the Universes, and planetary systems throughout 
all Infinitude, there was a very large beginning al- 
ready made. It is not possible for Finite Intelligence 
to conceive or comprehend the extent or limit of any- 
thing that is Infinite. All the Eternal Infinite things 
are now, and always have been, and always will be 
beyond the utmost limit of human Finite Intelligence. 
What could God do, or ever have done, if there was no 
space to operate in. What could God do or ever have 
done if there was no duration (not a second of time) 



PREFACE. 27 

to perform the work. What could God do or ever 
have done if there was no heat to make the work pos- 
sible. If it was 1,000 degrees below zero, the stones 
of the earth would not drav^ together by cohesion. 
There v^ould not be any vegetable or animal life come 
on the earth or any other planet only as the calorie 
(heat) comes from the sun. Then again, v^hat could 
God do, or ever have done toward making the earth or 
any other planet if there was no material to form the 
earth or planets out of, and if there was such material 
it was there already, God did not create it. God did 
not create space ; God did not create the duration ; God 
did not create the heat; God did not create the ma- 
terial, as these four Eternal Things are Infinite and 
have a co-existence with Intelligence God and there 
was never a time they did not exist, and there will 
never be a time when they cease to exist. 

Chapter 24. I here present to the readers that all 
prayers are a total failure, never have been answered 
nor never will be answered. How can the unchange- 
able be changed? God is unchangeable (James 1:17). 
I am the Lord; I change not (Mai. 3:6). Just once 
and a while these Bible writers stumble on a little 
truth. For the ways of the Infinite Intelligence God 
never change — the same today, tomorrow and forever. 
Praying to the Infinite Intelligence God is very much 
like dogs baying at the moon, and has no more eflPect 
than the dogs have on the moon. Same as priests and 
preachers praying night, morning and noon. 

Chapter 25. I here present to the mind of the reader 
that all promises of pra3^ers are untruthful, as the ways 
of the Great Intelligence God of all eternity cannot 
be changed by any finite force or power, but were the 



28 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

same in the past, now, and forever and forever. What 
the Infinite Intelligence God decrees to do, must be 
done for the reason that any and all action can not be 
otherwise than in full accord, and in harmony with all 
the other Eternal Infinite Things. None can be set 
aside or cancelled. The Hebrew and Christian finite 
Bible is based on our little finite world, and our mea- 
ger finite surrounding, while within Infinite Space 
there exist thousands of worlds and systems of worlds, 
and Infinite Intelligence God wields Infinite action and 
control of the whole, with their incomputable inhabi- 
tants, likely fully as good by nature as we are of this 
little seven by nine world. 

Chapter 26. The All- Wise Bird of Liberty.— Look- 
ing down with supreme contempt for the old Hebrew 
and Christian Bible, a mass of the most flagrant de- 
testable absurdities, vulgarities, lustful debauchery, 
filthy prostitution, indecency, and with all its other 
faults, contradicts itself 144 times. Just a mass of 
straight-out lying and falsifying the Facts, Truths and 
Reasons, The Great Moral Way, and denying scien- 
tifically proven findings. The scientific and learned 
people of the enlightened nations are now moved to 
investigate for themselves. Tlie Sunday has now al- 
most took its last breath. Of the people in the large 
cities only about one in seven go to any kind of church. 
The commerce by land and sea with the great variety 
of perishable freight can not be halted by a false and 
ignorant religious dogma (Sunday). 

Chapter 27. This chapter treats of the early history 
of our much beloved world. The development of the 
first continents around the poles ; the first animal life 
including the human race; their migration as the cli- 



THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, M. D. 
Age 40 Years; Weight 210 Pounds 



PREFACE. 29 

mate changed by the great eruptions causing the west- 
ern and eastern hemispheres. Scientific investigation 
and research in Alaska, Canada, United States, Mexico, 
Central America, Peru, as well as in many other parts 
of South America establish the fact beyond a reason- 
able doubt, that the human race originated and first 
trod the Earth in the western hemisphere, and it were 
these people that give Image Idol Worship and Human 
Sacrifice to the eastern hemisphere probably before 
the sinking of the Continent of Atlantis (see page 61) 
and long before the Genesis lie was ever heard of. 
Treats of the atmosphere and the amount of matter 
therein. Treats of the sun and north star magnetism. 
Gives a truthful definition of what constitutes God. 
Gives the reason prayers are not, cannot be, answered. 
Explains Heaven and Hell. Explains Abraham's and 
Isaac's villainous transactions. Shows Paul's lustful 
advice, and the greatest villain that ever trod the 
earth (Moses), who had a negro wife. The Man-God 
and Man-Devil idea, is the greatest curse of the human 
race ; neither of which have any existence, as Heaven 
and Hell are wholly imaginary. A God of battle with 
bloody sword. The priest and preachers are not posted 
on science, but have plenty of mouth to roar equal to 
Balaam's ass. All that is on the earth or in the Eternal 
Heavens is governed and controlled by the Eternal 
Things, which must be understood in order to arrive 
at correct conclusions. A parody on marriage and Hal- 
ley's comet ; please consider. 



30 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The destiny of the human Race 
Governed by the infinite Laws 
Of Facts, Truths and Reasons 
Accepts things as we find them. 

The roughest mountains may with luster shine, 
If from them rolls the golden sand. 

What at first would seem most sublime, 
That babies are to own all the land. 

Pap and mam works, hard times to meet. 
While the babies fret, kick, storm and cry 

Pap and mam eat hard bread and meat. 
While the babies get cream, jam and pie. 

Pap and mam get house, stock and land. 
For which they are proud and can boast, 

\A^hile the babies are strong, have the sand. 
Grab all in sight, and rule the roast. 



I WISH I WAS A BABY. 



T.J.SIMPSON. 




i. I wish I was a ba . by 
2. I wish I was a ba . by 
S. I wish I was a ba . by 



one dar.ling lit. tie flow.er, So the 
to have the greatest dow. er. So the 
the fin. est chub of the hour So the 




girls would hug and kiss me. 
girls would hug and kiss me. 
girls would hug and kiss me. 



as they did in child . hood hour, 
as they did in child ^ hood hour, 
as they did in child . hood hour. 




Copyright MCMVZU by T.J.Simpson. 




5. I wish I was a baby,a baby of a mower, 

Sothe girls would hug and kiss me as they did iti childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

6. I wish I Tvas a baby,a baby in the tower. 

So theglrls would hug and kiss meas they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

7. I wish I was a baby,to cry but never cower. 

So the girls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

8. I wish I was a baby,a baby of aplower, 

So the girls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

9. I wish I was a baby, traveling in life's great tours. 

So thegirls would hug and kiss'me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

10. I wish I was a baby,lel the plows rust or scour. 

So the girls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 

Chorus. 
.11. I wish I was a baby, the weather clear Or lower, 

So the girls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hou r. 

Chorus. 

12. I wish I was a baby, a baby rain or shower. 

So thegirls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

13. I wish I was a baby, a baby of the bower, 

So the girls would hug and kiss meas they did in childhood hour. 
Chorijs. 

14. I wish I was a baby,ababy let medevower 

So the girls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

15. I wish I was a baby, let mamma scrub and scour. 

So thegirls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

16. I wish 1 was a baby, let pap and mam fight and jower. 

So the girls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

17. Iwish I was a baby,ever sosweet or snur, 

So the girls would hug and kiss me as they did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 

18. Iwish I was a baby,to meet thegreat wnrldpowers. 

So thegirls would hug and kiss me as tbey did in childhood hour. 
Chorus. 



Itrish Ivaxa baby. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

I wish to say, in writing the contents of this book, 
that the reader will fully understand that before I 
summarized the contents contained therein, that I had 
never read any of what are generally termed free- 
thought literature, and what I have stated in this book 
is of my own volition. In the article on fine stones, I 
have tried in a brief way to give the reader an idea 
of what are and can be found in stones, and to infer 
that there is possibly thousands of other pictures, pro- 
files or outlined drafts yet to be found, and of course 
the article could be made much more extensive did 
the size of the book permit. Then how the earth was 
made could be drawn out to make a book on that 
subject, but a fair and concise brief idea is what i^ 
here intended. On a basis of facts, truths and rea- 
sons, the earth had to be unmade before it could be 
made, and if any philosopher can suggest any other 
way that the earth could be unmade and remade, I 
would be pleased to hear from that philosopher. This 
subject is a new one, and, so far as I know, has never 
been approached by any scientist in the great field of 
facts, truths and reasons before. On the subject of 
what causes earthquakes and volcanoes, this subject is 
practically new also. All scientific investigators agree 
that the cause is on the inside of the earth, and if my 
theory with regard as to how the earth was formed is 
correct, it goes a long way in proving that my theory 

31 



S2 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of what causes earthquakes and volcanoes is also 
correct. 

The human race and other lung-breathing animals 
came on the earth about the same time, when there 
was no land above the water except on the great con- 
tinents around the poles, and the great eruptions 
bringing up the great continents and islands, the 
human race and many other animals survived, and are 
still here after a great and indefinite time. There is 
nothing more miraculous as to the existence of man 
on the earth than the existence of the lion, tiger, cow 
or horse. Origination, when acted on by the impulse 
of the great Intelligence (God), caused all animal life 
to come on the earth, and the human race, being only 
finite, cannot comprehend the infinite works of God. 
There is no reason that man, by evolution, should be 
evolved from the tadpole, as God could just as easy 
make man as the tadpole. 

I have tried to give a fair idea of the universe and 
its orbit within the universalum, which gives a fair 
idea of what is away from the earth in the. Eternal, 
unlimited, infinite, ethereal space, which we. call blue 
sky. I am the first writer, so far as I know, that 
has listed the Eternal things, and it is by, with and 
through the force and power of these Eternal things 
that the impulse of Intelligence God acts or can act. 
I have given a list of lost books in the Scriptures. The 
Christian scheme of redemption. All prayers a total 
failure. Prayers to God are never answered, and 144 
self contradictions in Hebrew and Christian Bible. It 
is my aim and hope that this book will be of benefit 
to the human race. 



CHAPTER 2. 

FINE STONES OF THE EARTH AND WHAT 
MAKES THEM VALUABLE. 

The author of this book has heretofore gained no- 
toriety in both the state and nation for a knowledge 
of geology and mineralogy, and for writings on the 
formation of the heavens and the earth ; for a faculty 
of finding more curiosities or freaks of nature in stones 
or stone formations than fall to the lot of the greatest 
scientific men ; for finding, developing and demonstrat- 
ing that the finest agates on this earth are to be found 
in Missouri and can be found in Moniteau County, and 
was the first man to publish the theory that when the 
earth was formed there were outlined profiles and pic- 
tures made in the stones showing what would appear 
on the earth when it was finished. 

The Diamond, Tourmaline, Opal, Topaz, Sapphire, 
Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst, Turquoise, Moonstone, 
Bloodstone, Tiger's Eye and Garnet have no profiles 
or pictures, and their value is in their hardness, their 
fine polish, their many beautiful colors, and for the 
beauty and brilliancy of their reflections. In the agate 
are shown the stratified formations of the earth, also 
running water with waving moss, such as can be seen 
in running streams, as well as many other pictures 
and profiles of things that are and can be seen on the 
earth and in the heavens. In the pellucid quartz are 
to be seen needles, and veins of silver and gold. Look- 
ing through transparent calcspar are to be seen the 
changing lines and double vision, illustrating the mov- 

3 33 



34 . FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

ing shadows of the sun. In the onyx are to be seen 
the beautiful landscape scenes, lakes, islands, seas, 
oceans, great storms and flying clouds. In the Dia- 
mond, Tourmaline, Opal, Ruby and other precious 
stones we realize the beauty and brilliancy of reflected 
light in all its shades and colors. In the Tourm_aline 
are to be seen magnetic and phosphorescent qualities, 
adding great value as a jewel. On coal taken from 
deep down in the earth, where light has never shone, 
can be found rainbow and peacock feather pictures, 
the same as the colors given off by the sun rays in all 
their beauty and splendor. In the sandstone one thou- 
sand feet below the surface, we see bird tracks, and 
live frogs are found in the solid stone. In crystalized 
stones we see fishes and feathers. Fossil snakes are 
seen in solid stone. Stones are seen full of worm-holes, 
with the worms, as it were, crawling through the 
stones. 

In the bed-rock, fourteen feet below the surface, in 
Honduras, and under forty feet of solid stone in Ne- 
vada, are seen human tracks. In solid stone are seen 
tracks of cattle and deer. In the stone deep down in 
the earth is found cloth (Fenestra Culum) stretched 
across openings, showing both warp and filling. In 
stones on the earth, and stones that fall from the 
heavens, there is coal-tar, from which coal oil is made. 
Diamond is pure carbon and is the most valuable sub- 
stance on the earth, which indicates that the carbon, 
stored in coal and wood, is the most valuable sub- 
stance the earth contains, as without carbon no arti- 
ficial heat or vegetation could be produced. 

In an aerolitic stone is found a crinordal head, show- 
ing the inside ribs and five foramens through which 



FINE STONES OF THE EARTH. 35 

the five nerves passed to the sensorium, showing that 
the five senses existed in the very earliest forms of 
animal life of this and other worlds. In an aerolitic 
stone is found the butt end of an ear of Indian corn, 
two inches in diameter, grains well formed, natural 
size, twenty rows on the cob. The pith or the inside of 
the cob has been .cut away to a smooth surface, then 
with a carver's chisel has been engraved what appear., 
to have been an alphabet of some people that have 
occupied some disintegrated planet, that probably was 
blown into such small iractions that the gravitation 
attraction ceased, and is now called ''Nebula." 

Agates and other precious stones, being of aerolitic 
origin, are found in many parts of the earth, as well as 
stones formed on the earth, such as Onyx, Marbles, 
Calcspars and Calcareous formations, showing many 
beautiful colors in their constructions, as well as their 
crystalizations. Many of these fine stones of solid or 
variegated colors are valuable for paperAveights, cen- 
ter-tables, or mantel ornaments, but it is only stones 
that have some peculiar quality of reflection, or stand 
forth so as to represent something valuable on the 
earth, or that has a profile or picture of something 
that has been, or can be, or will be seen on the earth, 
are what makes them valuable, and the agates found 
in Missouri seem to possess more beautiful designs 
and pictures than any other locality. I have, as I be- 
lieve, the most wonderful agates CA^er found on this 
earth, designed and fashioned by a higher order of in- 
telligence than mankind possesses. I have an agate, 
showing a forge with the blaze flying in all directions' 
by the force of the air pressure, same as when iron and 
steel are being shaped. I have an agate showing the 



36 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

top of a great building, with archway and high glass 
domes on the corners. I have an agate showing the 
emblem of the order of the Mystic Shrine, the superla- 
tive Independent order of the higher degrees of the 
Masonic Fraternity, showing the eagle or tiger's 
claws holding the beautiful stratified earth in their 
grasp, showing the central nucleus as was described in 
my writings six months before the stone was found. 
This stone is about one and one-half inches wide, one- 
eighth of an inch thick, cut, polished and trimmed with 
gold as a pendant. I also have the twin stone cut from 
the same stone, but thinner, one and one-quarter inches 
wide, equally attractive, and trimmed the same as a 
pendant. Just' one for the order in America and one 
for Europe. These twin stones are of such rarity that 
the human race may never be able to duplicate them. 

I have an agate stone showing a planet, something 
like the rising sun, Avith stratifications beautifully out- 
lined and encompassed round by the most miraculous 
encircling of white and red lines with the right and 
left sides being the exact counterpart of the other, 
which nothing but divine skill could accomplish in con- 
struction. Still this miraculous wonderment that this 
stone was placed on earth to prove that Christ was 
one of the many messiahs, men possessed of such great 
moral character and Intelligence (God) within them, to 
cause the people to worship them as God, or as medi- 
ators between them and what they conceived to be 
God. 

As the eternal and unlimited -caloric, an attribute 
of eternal and unlimited intelligence, is the cause of 
all life on the earth by the effect of heat of the sun's 
rays, so it is by the effect of the sun's rays striking 




By The Ro'^^ Studio 
Tipton, Missouri 



Photographs by mail on receipt of 25 cents. 



FINE STONES OF THE EARTH. 37 

the face of this stone and reflected onto a shaded wall 
produces a luminous picture of the crucifixion of Christ, 
showing the cross and the luminous body on the cross. 
The great bewilderm.ent and astounding result, that 
this little stone not much larger than a silver dollar, 
should possess the impress and power within its for- 
mation when brought in contact with the sun's rays 
to show to mankind that the very stones of the earth 
are made to proclaim the truth of the crucifixion of 
Christ, one of the meanest and most ignoble crimes 
of the hundreds of thousands perpetrated or instigated 
by Judaism or Jewish priestcraft on the human race ; 
so mean and detestable that it forced an impress on 
the very stones of the earth. The cross, as reflected at 
a distance of twenty feet, is about five feet by two and 
one-half feet, the upright and cross-beam being about 
two and one-half inches in diameter, or, as a whole, 
about 200 times the size of the stone from which the 
reflection is made. To the Christian world this is the 
greatest wonder since Christ was laid in the manger. 
The cross has been the emblem and beacon light of 
the Christians for over 1,900 years, and refers directly 
to Christ and his moral precepts and teachings while 
here on earth. This cross, this phantom, this preter- 
natural apparition, has been photographed, and the 
stone is polished and trimmed with gold as a pendant. 
Some of the good followers of Christ ejaculate that 
it is strange that this stone should be found and devel- 
oped and in the possession of a man who does not be- 
lieve in the divinity of Christ. I would remind the 
gentlemen that Christ came to the world through a 
nation of his enemies, that they are still his enemies 
after nineteen hundred years; that they are af- 



38 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

flicted with a disease that is strictly hereditary, known 
as religious bigotry, and that they would crucify him 
again had they another opportunity, as they once did. 
Priestcraft murdered all that interfered with their in- 
come. 

I have an agate showing standing vegetable plants, 
the white roots with two red stocks, which shov/ three 
joints and the tassels, three purple stocks showing 
joints. Two stocks almost white, nine golden leaffolds, 
some of which are slightly touched with red, many 
white leaffolds or flat casements that fit around sup- 
porting the stocks, and with all there is a vine on a 
dead stretch, pulling the outside leafifolds almost dou- 
ble, and with sufficient force to show a decided effect 
on seventeen leaffolds and stocks. 

Many of the stocks are more or less pellucid. This 
stone is about two inches long and one and one-half 
inches wide, and one-eighth of an inch thick, polished 
and trimmed with gold as a pendant. The rarity and 
wonderment of this stone makes its great value con- 
ceded and may never be duplicated. 

I- have an agate that shows a beautiful onion cut 
right through the middle, having first been slightly 
squeezed with a side pressure so as to open the folds, 
which for rarity and beauty exceeds anything ever 
found on this earth. No Diamond, Opal, Ruby, Tour- 
maline, or other precious stones will compare with this 
matchless curiosity, showing up in many brilliant col- 
ors. I have the twin stone, a slice cut from the same 
stone, the profile being a little smaller, but equally 
beautiful and attractive. These twin stones are about 
two inches long and one inch wide in the middle, their 
shape being an elliptic, one-eighth of an inch thick, 



FINE STONES OF THE EARTH. 39 

polished and trimmed with gold as pendants. These 
twin stones are of such rarity that if twenty men 
should put in full time for twenty years searching 
for such stones, they would, in all probability, fail to 
duplicate them. I have an agate, the amazing aston- 
ishment of the multiplicity of things, showing an 
azure, bluish-gray sky, a golden surface with the strata 
of the earth turned up by an active volcano into a 
mountain peak, from which is thrown a great column 
of black smoke, from the top of which the wind is 
blowing it away off in one direction, and away up 
above are to be seen black rocks, as well as several 
pieces that appear to be gold. This stone is cut, pol- 
ished and trimmed with gold as a pendant, being about 
one inch long and wide, and one-eighth of an inch 
thick, cut as a heart; the amazing peculiar outlined 
picture it contains makes it very attractive, and of 
great value as a pendant. I have an agate showing 
a perfect human eye, cut so as to show the middle of 
the eye on one side, and the front of the eye on the 
other side. This stone is about one and one-eighth 
of an inch wide and one-eighth of an inch thick, cut 
octagonal, the colors being brown, pellucid and white. 
This is the greatest agate of them all. What would 
this world be without an eye? "That all-seeing eye 
to look, as it were, from the eternal and unlimited 
Intelligence to govern the earth, the seasons, and the 
affairs of mankind." The great star of hope, energy; 
impulse, and the moving cause that show to the world 
Facts, Truths and Reasons lighting up the pathway 
of human existence. 

These profiles, diagrams, pictures and outlined drafts 
that are to be found and plainly seen in the stones of 



40 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

the earth, as well as aerolitic and meteoric stones that 
come to the earth from ethereal space. There are 
many wonderful and also very instructive things that 
can be found preserved and treasured in state and na- 
tional museums, in fhe interest of science, for the ad- 
vancement of intelligence in all the coming genera- 
tions of the human race, to see facts, learn truths, and 
use the greatest gift of God to man — human reasons. 
This class of science should not be classed with that 
of geology, nor the specimens mixed with geological 
tracings and specimens, nor with the specimens of hu- 
man antiquity. This line of science is a superlative 
order of the handiwork of God. This class of speci- 
mens, aside from their beauty and brilliancy, seem to 
be trying to show you something that you have seen, 
or can see, or might see, as it were, in some prophetic 
way, to better understand the ways of God, thereby 
developing thoughts of a higher order, increasing intel- 
ligence bringing you nearer to God and eternity. 
There should be a special room provided for this line 
of science and specimens, and well secured against 
thieves, as such specimens are very valuable. If the 
specimens are made secure, many people would leave 
many valuable specimens there, subject to call, so 
that the people might see them and get some idea of 
their value and importance. Many wealthy people, 
when they die, would bequeath their many valuable 
specimens, as well as many kinds of jewelry, to such 
a museum, for the whole people and the many gen- 
erations yet to come. The museum should be in care 
of a superintendent, with a laboratory connected, to 
cut and prepare specimens so as to bring to view their 
use and attractions, so that they could be better seen 



FINE STONES OF THE EARTH. 41 

and understood. Many of our scientists and wealthy 
people, traveling in our own great country and in for- 
eign lands, would return loaded with fine, attractive 
stones, and take pride donating them to the museum. 
If the museum should become overstocked in any line, 
they could contribute to such schools as could provide 
for them. Crystals, crystallizations and crystallized 
petrifactions would class with this line of science. 
When a museum as outlined is once put on a sub- 
stantial basis, thousands of people from large cities 
would put in several weeks seeking for fine stones in 
crystalline fields, and would have a far better outing 
than with the rod and gun. 

Every museum should have a Geological Depart- 
ment. First showing a display of specimens of each 
and every stratum of stone from the core of the earth 
to the surface, with the weight and density marked on 
polished sides, and a display of the stone age before 
people knew minerals or metals from stone. Should 
have a display of the crystallized and fine stones of 
the earth, giving weight, density, value and use. 
Should have a display of the great mineral or metallic 
kingdom, showing their value and uses. Should have 
a display of the Great Fossil Kingdom from the first 
forms of life on the earth, including osteology, up 
to date. Such would give the people a fair idea of 
the truthful history of the earth, and how and when 
animal life came on the earth, as well as what can 
and may be found on and in the earth below the 
surface. As our eminent domain is developed great 
quantities of such specimens can be had with prope'. 
efforts by states and nation. 



CHAPTER 3. 

HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE. 

How was the earth made? Five eternal things 
must exist before the earth could be made : First, 
there must be space. Second, there must be dura- 
tion. Third, there must be matter. Fourth, there 
must be caloric (heat). Fifth, there must be intelli- 
gence. 

These five eternal things existed, and never were 
created, before anything ever was made. Space to 
operate in, duration for the operation, matter for the 
construction, caloric to make construction possible, 
and intelligence to control and direct the whole per- 
formance from beginning to end. A careful exam- 
ination of the earth and its attributes shows that from 
the earliest period of its existence, aerolitic boulders, 
rocks and metals have been falling on the earth, with 
the same kind of fossils in them, such as fossil snakes, 
univalves, crinoidal heads, crinoidal stems, and many 
other fossils of the subcarboniferous period, as were 
formed on the earth, illustrating the earliest forms of 
animal and vegetable life, and as these aerolites were 
parts of disintegrating planets, destroyed by explo- 
sions or other cause, and are now called Nebula, from 
which it is inferred that all planets are composed of 
the same material as that composing the earth, and 
that animal life was developed on them in the same 
way, and resulted by progression into living, breath- 
ing animals, and to human beings of the highest per- 
fection, all having a brain and a sensorium capable 

42 



HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE. 43 

of absorbing intelligence necessary for their use and 
existence. These Nebula, having no gravitation attrac- 
tion, have occupied ethereal space for millions of 
years, until the earth, in its orbit, around the sun, and 
with the universe in its orbit around the great Univer- 
salum, its attraction absorbed the nebula, which in the 
form of aerolitic stones, gravels, sands, clays and soils, 
fell in great showers on the earth, the most heavy 
coming first, and the clays and soils being lighter, 
coming last, as they are found on the Earth disar- 
ranged by the down-flowing of water and abrasions. 

It is unfortunate that these Nebulas exist in the un- 
limited ethereal space, and that this waste material, 
such as the rocks and gravel, have been piled on the 
Earth from a few inches to hundreds of feet in depth. — 
But as the Earth was formed by the eternal, un- 
changeable, unlimited intelligence: what now exists 
will remain until the next great change (which will 
come). As the Earth was formed by gradual process 
of adhesive accumulation of eternal, unlimited matter 
that existed before the process of formation began, as 
matter can be formed, but cannot now be nor never 
was created. By nature's fixed laws, all matter con- 
tinues to change, so that the Earth will disintegrate 
by reversal of attraction or other cause, and pass into 
Nebula, or by the eternal, fixed law of orbital motion 
come in contact with Caloric, the origin of all motion, 
all life on Earth, and throughout the unlimited, ether- 
eal space, the greatest of all things on the Earth, 
and in the eternal, unlimited heavens, except Intelli- 
gence, concentrated and embodied in some great sun 
star, Arcturus, Procyon, Alpha Tauri, or Alyone, the 
great star of the Pleiades, where the heat given off 



44 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

being so great that all animal and vegetable life 
ceases to exist for a radius of 200,000,000 miles, and 
as the Earth passed near the great Caloric body, it not 
only became lava, but w^as, by the great intensity of 
heat, gasified into aeriform fluid, so expanded and lucid 
as to appear to our vision as having no existence at 
the point of the greatest heat, and from that point is 
v^here the formation of the Earth began. — First, the 
v^aste refuse matter formed into a central nucleus of 
lava, combined with the Incandescent Caloric to such 
an extent that all the gases, forming v^ater and air, 
and all the matter entering into the strata of the 
Earth's after-construction, vv^ere in the firmament ex- 
tending to the limit of orbital attraction all around 
the nucleus of lava, of about 7,800 miles, equatorial 
diameter, and w^hile in this liquid state, the revolution 
of the Earth caused the shortening of the polar diame- 
ter about twenty-seven miles, around which, as this 
great caloric nucleus body cooled, the Earth's stratifi- 
cations by gravitation attraction, aided by the down- 
pouring of water, governed by intelligent, gradual ad- 
hesive process, was rebuilt as the present stratified 
formation of the Earth shows have been made. The 
outside, stratified, solid crust of the Earth covering 
the inner liquid lava being about 50 miles in thick- 
ness, with over fifty vent-holes, known as volcanoes, 
to relieve the pressure of the outside, stratified portion 
of the Earth, and were it not for these vent-holes the 
Earth would be blown into smithereens, and being so 
disintegrated, and gravitation attraction ceasing, the 
matter now composing the Earth would become Nebu- 
la and waste material in ethereal space, which is per- 
meated with Nebulas, Earth matter, broken stones 



HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE. 45 

and metals, ready at any time to be absorbed by the 
attraction of other planets in their orbital course in 
the universe or universalum. 

When the Earth, expanded into aeriform fluid, 
emerged from its baptism of fire, a new-born world 
started whirling in its course of thousands of years, 
held in place by the eternal, unlimited law of intelli- 
gence, drawing on its resources by its own attraction, 
adding stratum after stratum, absorbing aerolitic 
waste and nebula matter in the sub-carboniferous, car- 
boniferous and Permian formations until all the strata 
were about completed as we now see the Earth. This 
aerolitic waste and nebula matter increased the weight 
and size of the Earth, which were added to the regular 
strata each time it received its caloric baptism of 
fire, which increased its centrifugal force, orbital 
radiation and distance from the sun as shown in the 
universe. Lower the temperature beyond a cer- 
tain degree and all vegetable and animal life disap- 
pears. Raise the temperature beyond a certain degree 
and the result is just the same. The eternal, unlimited 
caloric that exists throughout unlimited space, acted 
on by intelligence, forms and unforms all matter or 
material things. 

The eternal cold is the negative of Caloric, the low- 
est degree of heat. As heat decreases, cold increases. 
Where heat ceases to exist there is perfect cold, and 
where caloric attains to aeriform fluid it can be added 
to in quantity, but its intensity remains the same. 
When heat is given off by the great Caloric body 
to all parts of the universe by the sun, it is not de- 
stroyed. It is still in the universe or ethereal space. 
There is enough heat comes to the Earth every sum- 



46 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

mer to set it on fire and make it a barren waste, were 
it not for the cold in the vaulted atmosphere around 
the Earth mixing with the surface air, as directed by 
the intelligent construction of the Earth's attributes. 
It is a fact, from the above and the consensus of all 
the evidence obtainable in regard to the form.ation of 
the Earth, that it was made out of eternal and un- 
limited matter; and that the main, moving cause and 
origination was eternal, unlimited Caloric (heat), pro- 
ducing the attraction and cohesion, as well as the ani- 
mal and vegetable life. (No heat, no life.) The Earth 
Avas formed hot and it is still hot, and there never has 
been a time since it was made, thousands of years ago, 
that it was colder than it is now. The Earth began 
cooling at the poles, and the cold is now and has been 
for thousands of years slowly moving toward the 
equator. The great Glacial Epochs are one of the 
world's greatest humbugs. Of course there are gla- 
ciers near the poles, and some ice and snow slipping 
down a high mountain once in a great while ; beyond 
that it is making mountains out of mole hills. The 
drift, boulders, rocks, clays and soils that are scat- 
tered broadcast over and near the surface of the Earth 
come to the Earth from Ethereal space, and are near 
where they struck the Earth. A small portion may 
have found their present location by the floating ice 
fields. The moraines, erosions and abrasions are easily 
accounted for with strata not sufficiently hardened, 
and the crust of the Earth rising, falling, bending, 
warping and folding, and with half the water of the 
oceans in the firmament pouring down on the Earth, 
causing great floods to eat away the soft and unhard- 
ened crust and cutting great canyons in a thousand 



HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE. 47 

years that would now take a million years to accom- 
plish. These great canyons (river channels) still ex- 
ist, and can be found extending from the mouth of 
rivers under the ocean for hundreds of miles, and 
is positive proof that the present ocean water was 
not there when these canyons and river channels were 
being made. As the universe is moving north toward 
the star Polaris. The first torrid climate was at and 
around the poles and moved gradually ta the equator. 
The first tropical climate was at and around the poles 
and has moved gradually to the equator. The first 
temperate climate was at and around the poles and is 
moving gradually toward the equator. The first frigid 
climate was at and around the poles and is moving 
gradually toward the equator, and when it arrives at 
the equator, animal and vegetable life will have dis- 
appeared! The ocean waters will be evaporated and 
transferred into thousands of feet of ice on the lands. 
The rivers will cease to flow, the internal Caloric will 
be absorbed in ethereal space. The sun's rays will 
fail on the white ice, snow, and the crystalized salts of 
the lakes, seas and ocean bottoms, and after thousands 
of years of whirling through ethereal space with the 
universe, it will come in contact with the great Caloric 
body. The ice will be melted, the oceans will reappear, 
the waters will be evaporated. The Earth will go 
through its baptism of fire and be converted into aeri- 
form fluid ; then rebuilt and go whirling on its course 
at the speed of about 500,000,000 miles per year, for 
500,000 years, and the unforming and reforming con- 
tinues for all eternity, in endless repetition, and 
with its new mantle, new universe and new heaven, 
and by intelligence acting on origination and Caloric, 



48 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

the animal and vegetable life will reappear, and the 
people will again be disputing over their corner lots, 
earn bread by the sweat of their brow in order to pay 
the priests, preachers and taxes, and fight each other 
in religious and political wars. Religious wars have 
existed from the time the first Church worship was 
established on the earth, for the reason that church 
worship is and always has been a scheme to procure 
money from the more ignorant and unsuspecting peo- 
ple and church dupes, and the church want of revenue. 
Rule or ruin for those that did not contribute to the 
support of priest or church rulers. 

It is a generally accepted fact that in the eternal, un- 
limited, ethereal space there are thousands of Nebulas, 
great spaces of millions of miles in extent, that are full 
of broken stones and waste matter, with no gravitation 
attraction, or orbital motion, and apparently just lay- 
ing there, as it were, a kind of storage department for 
matter or planet-building material. The universe is- 
composed of many planets, called by several different 
names, such as Planets, Asteroids, Satellites, etc., 
which revolve around, in and with the universe, and 
the many universes revolve around the great universa- 
lum, and the universalum revolves around some still 
greater center; and as orbital motion is an eternal 
thing, the circling of the great eternal, unlimited, ether- 
eal space and infinitude goes on without limit, without 
ceasing, throughout all eternity. By this process of the 
universe and universalum in circling the ethereal sky, 
they come in contact with these great nebulas, and im- 
mense quantities of this matter, or planet-building ma- 
terial, are attracted to and absorbed and become part of 
these many planets and spherical bodies by great show- 



HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE. 49 

ers of rocks, gravels, sands, clays and soils, and when 
again coming near the great Caloric bodies, are melt- 
ed, evaporated, and when reconstructed are worked 
in, greatly enlarging the size of the planets, and in 
that way the planets are enlarged, becoming greater 
and greater by each contact with the Nebulas, and the 
process being continuous, and the planets, worlds and 
earth's building has gone on for billions of years in 
the eternal past, and will continue for billions of years 
in the eternal future ; and by this mode of procedure it 
illustrates why the larger planets of the Solar System 
are larger by being a greater distance from the sun, as 
they in their orbits take a much greater sweep through 
the Nebulas, and thereby absorbed more of the planet- 
building material. It is a sure deduction that an un- 
biased, well-informed person that thoroughly examines 
and investigates the formation and structure of the 
Earth will assert, without a doubt, that the Earth was 
made by a gradual adhesive process; that the material 
entering into the construction has been reduced by 
heat to a very fine infinitesimal dust, aeriform fluid or 
gases, convertible into air, water and matter. It is 
beyond question that the mattef (the material) now 
composing the Earth is now, and ever has been, in 
existence, and never will cease to exist. It is con- 
ceded that the Earth has been unformed and reformed 
once ; and if once, it is a forecast that the same opera- 
tion has been continuous for all time past, add infinitum ; 
and the same can be said of all planets and spherical 
bodies of matter in the great infinitude. 

When we turn our eyes on the Earth to examine 
it for Facts, Truths and Reasons, as measured by the 
science of geology, the open book of God, there we 

4 



60 IPACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

find evidence we have got to believe, whether we want 
to or not. The water was running in the Nile and 
Ganges Rivers 35,000 years ago, in the great canyons 
50,000 years ago. Coal formation 100,000 years ago. 
Bird, animal and human tracks in solid stone 75,000 
years ago. Univalves, bivalves and trivalves, fishes, 
and many other fossils in the sub-carbonous rock 200,- 
000 years ago. All shows and proves that Genesis is 
an extortious, fabulous and unmitigated lie, without 
any palliating circumstances, and the liar who wrote 
the myth story of Genesis has never been excelled as 
a polished liar in all past history up to date, and the 
same can be said of the manuscripts composing old 
Hebrew Bible, they are myth stories void of the re- 
semblance of Facts, Truths or Reasons. There are 
many statements set forth in these old musty out-of- 
date manuscripts wherein if we had a celestial tele-- 
scope that would magnify a hundred million times 
we could not discern an iota of truth in them. Still 
we hear the priest and preachers say that the Hebrew 
and Christian Bible is God's truth, but they refer to 
a man God, and that kind of a God is not mentioned 
in my dictionary. If may be that that God is a half- 
brother to Satan, as they both walk when they travel 
and met at a feast of the sons of God (see Job, chap- 
ter one, read it all and be disgusted). Of course, the 
whole of Job is a myth story, as a kind of a burlesque 
on the man God, and the man Devil idea gotten up 
by priests to make people fear God and pay the priest 
and be submissive to their will. 



CHAPTER 4. 

WHAT CAUSES EARTHQUAKES AND 
VOLCANOES? 

The earth, after its transformation by incandescent 
heat, and was transformed into a great caloric body 
of about 7,800 miles equatorial diameter, and all the 
water, gases and other elements entering into the 
after construction of the solid, stratified crust of the 
earth of about 50 miles in thickness, were in the 
firmament, and as soon as the great caloric body cooled 
to such an extent that the congealing water and other 
elements composing each and every strata as they 
are now found to exist, come to the earth by the infini- 
tesimal earth matter falling into the water which cov- 
ered the earth all the time the strata were being 
formed. Non-air-breathing animals were originated 
and lived under water in the sub-carboniferous period, 
as their fossils demonstrate, and up to that time the 
greater part of the water that came to thc^ earth had 
been consumed by being absorbed into the cement 
stone formation of the strata, and the remaining water 
was not of great depth, and the rotary motiou of the 
earth on its axis caused the water to recede from the 
poles toward the equator, exposing the great conti- 
nents around the poles, and the climate being tropical 
with plenty of rainfall, and a moist, rich soil, and all 
the carbon of the earth being in the atmosphere, and 
the eternal origination caused vegetation to come forth 
in immense quantities, and as all the central portion 

51 



52 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of the earth was a torrid cHmate, causing the prevail- 
ing wind currents to draw toward the equator, and 
the vegetable matter in great drifts — fifty to one hun- 
dred feet in thickness — and from fifty to five hundred 
miles in width and length, floated away to all parts 
of the earth, and were left where they sank, and for a 
great age this process went on absorbing carbon from 
the atmosphere into this vegetable matter, which, un 
der the pressure of the after strata above, coal was 
formed into the great coal fields of the earth, and so 
depleted the atmosphere of carbon as to make it pos- 
sible for the eternal origination to bring into existence 
lung-breathing animals, and by progression to the hu- 
man being of the greatest perfection, but likely did 
not make much headway until the strata above coal 
up to the post-tertiary period, and the great showers 
of aerolitic boulders, rocks, gravel, clays and soils had 
come to the earth from ethereal space, which were the 
finishing touches of completion. 

The sub-carboniferous and conglomerate formations 
are full of round, smooth-polished flint boulders, and 
in the strata, too, and on the surface, mixed with other 
broken stones, clays and soils, and no doubt received 
their smooth polish while a part of some disintegrated 
planet before they ever came to the earth. And the 
above process of forming the earth was in progress 
for thousands of years. The first or 'lower strata were 
hot or mixed with water that was hot, and likely is 
still hot, and as all stone strata is of cement formation, 
and the particles were drawn together by cohesive at- 
traction which caused the body to decrease in size. 
The upper strata were made when the water was cold, 
and the cohesive attraction was accomplished in a 



WHAT CAUSES EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES? 53 

short time — that is to say, the upper strata of some 
ten to twenty miles were fully condensed, and to that 
extent hardened before the lower strata had hardly 
made a start in condensation, but they did condense, 
and the shrinkage not only brought great pressure on 
the lava core of the earth, but lessened the diameter 
and size of the earth by the strata becoming thinner 
and shorter in their length, which caused them to 
shrink away from the upper or outer strata, and as the 
upper strata had to go down, and at the same time 
their length was too great, then came the raising, low- 
ering, warping and folding of the upper strata to 
shorten their length, so that a goodly portion could 
rest on the strata below, and this was the cause of the 
undulating surface of the earth, which has, to some 
extent, been changed by abrasions of down-flow of 
water and water-courses. 

One part of the upper strata settled down to a lodg- 
ment on the strata below, and three, five, ten, twenty, 
or even one hundred miles away, another part would 
settle to a resting place, leaving a great cavern from 
three to one hundred miles in extent, and from a few 
hundred feet to a mile in height, and the whole upper 
strata of the earth is just permeated with these great 
caverns. Many of these great caverns have no water 
in them, and are filled with gas and petroleum oil, 
pressed from the great coal-fields by the weight of the 
overlaying strata, the pressure of the oil and gas being 
sufficient to force the water out. When two thousand 
feet thick of the ceiling, and fifty miles long and wide 
by a diagonal slip, breaks down and falls three thou- 
sand feet and jars the surface of the earth for five 
hundred miles around, then we say we had a big earth- 



54 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

quake; and when two hundred feet thick of the ceiling, 
ten miles long and wide, breaks loose and falls one 
thousand feet, we say we had a little earthquake. In the 
earthquake of New Madrid, in 1811, the cavern broke 
through from the surface. When there is an eruption 
from an extinct crater of a mountain peak, it is an 
eruption of a volcano, not an earthquake, even if it 
does shake the surrounding region. 

It is unsafe to build skyscraper buildings, as the 
location of the great caverns are not known, but more 
safe on or near the mountains where there are no ex- 
tinct craters, than on the ordinary level country. The 
great cave in South Missouri, Mammoth Cave in Ken- 
tucky, and Kent's Cavern in England are samples of 
such caverns on a small scale. The actual united 
thickness of the stratified portion of earth from the 
surface down to the molten lava, is not, and probably 
never will be, known, as a calculation of the tempera- 
ture from the surface down by arithmetical ratio 
would probably fail, as it is likely that a great portion 
of the lower strata has nearly an even temperature, 
by the heat from below and cold from above. How- 
deep down in the earth these caverns exist cannot be 
known, but evidently they are more numerous from 
five to thirty miles of the surface. In summing up 
the work of great ages, we realize the complete earth, 
and intelligence acting on origination developed ani- 
mal life, which first appeared on the great continents 
around the poles, and there was where the great ani- 
mals feasting on vegetation, and on each other as 
vegetation decreased by the change of climate and the 
encroachment of the water which finally covered the 
whole earth, and the climate being frigid, these great 



WHAT CAUSES EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES? 55 

animals perished where their bones and bodies are 
found frozen in ice and earth matter near the poles, 
and their bones are also found a great distance from 
the poles, where they have been carried by the float- 
ing icefields. Now we have the earth covered with 
water, a glittering spheroid, as it swings on its orbit 
in eternal ethereal space. Then by the great weight 
of the w^ater, and the stratifications, and their contrac- 
tions on the great caloric core of the earth which 
brought it under such great pressure, that it exploded 
and bursted the earth from pole to pole, and raised 
South America, North America, Greenland, and many 
islands of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and leav- 
ing many active volcanoes which relieved the pres- 
sure for another great age. While these continents 
and islands were raised up, the lands now the bottom 
of the ocean, were lowered in nearly the same propor- 
tion. — Of the volcanoes then made, many became 
choked and died away to extinction, while the pres- 
sure increased during another long period of time, and 
resulted in bursting the earth from pole to pole again, 
raising Africa, Europe, Asia, and many islands of the 
Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and adding greatly to the 
number of volcanoes, there now being from fifty to 
sixty in active eruption, and many more extinct — vol- 
canoes that the core of the earth, can put in active 
eruption when the pressure so requires. 

Many of the mountain ranges thrown up in the 
great eruptions of the earth, the strata were not 
broken through to the lava, but many of ^ the great 
internal caverns were broken down, preventing earth- 
quakes in their immediate vicinity, making buildings 



56 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

more safe from earthquakes than the undisturbed un- 
dulating country. After the two great eruptions the 
heat given off warmed the water and air, and the cli- 
mates beginning at and around the poles, and moving 
gradually to the equator, and the vegetable and ani- 
mal life reappeared, resulting in the human being to 
use, control, and govern, to satisfy and make fruitful 
the adroitness of eternal, unlimited intelligence. We 
do not know why the earth was, and is peopled, or 
why all other animals exist on the earth, nor we do 
not, nor can not, know why the humxan race occupies 
the earth, nor the exact process by which they were 
originated, and for what grand purpose in the grand 
plan of eternity and all Infinitude they are here to 
fill ; but we do know that we exist and cease to exist, 
as the material in a human being is matter and all 
matter must change. 

That eternal change no one can deny. It is right 
before our vision all the time. Everything on the 
earth from the smallest seed or the smallest insect is 
changing. The child changes from its mother, then 
continues to change every hour every second Until it 
is fully matured, then it starts to change every hour 
every second until segregation in death, and every 
element therein goes back to the earth and other 
eternal things from whence they came nothing lost 
or destroyed. The eternal things can be used but 
never destroyed. Everything you see, hear, feel, taste 
or smell changes without ceasing. The earth's strata 
shows that they are composed of material that existed 
before their formation began, and so it is with all 
planets, comets, satellites, millions of suns, nebulas 



WHAT CAUSES EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES? 57 

and stars that light up the eternal unlimited ethereal 
space of Infinitude, all are undergoing an infinite 
change. Day changes the night, darkness changes 
the light. Heat changes the cold. Intelligence 
changes ignorance. Happiness changes the sorrow. 
Kindness changes the grief. Great men change their 
minds. The old filthy Hebrew God changed his mind. 
Charity changes want. Forgiveness changes the 
troubled conscience. The intelligent girl changes her 
love from the handsome effeminate dude with hair 
parted in the middle to a more homely masculine man 
of wisdom. The old maid after long waiting and 
duress changes to matrimonial bliss and a regular old 
hair-pulling time. Misery changes to glory. Changes 
in countless numbers, changes beyond human compre- 
hension, infinite changes. The eternal things never 
change. The eternal things all have a coexistence, and 
never change. All have their own sphere of action, 
either in connection with any one of the eternal things, 
or jointly with all the eternal things; but all action 
must be in harmony with their existence. The great 
Intelligence (God), the supreme moving cause, with- 
out which no action can take place ; but when any ac- 
tion takes place, it is and always will be in harmony 
with all the eternal things, none can be set aside or 
canceled. There is no such thing as any of the eter- 
nal things getting tired. See and consider the power 
and force that gravitation attraction draws and holds 
this earth together, as well as all things thereon. 
Who ever heard of gravitation attraction getting 
tired? Who ever heard of the supreme Intelligence 
God the great moving cause, that rules over and con- 



58 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

trols throughout the eternal infinitude getting tired. 
Such expressions shows superlative ignorance. The 
old filthy and cruel God of Abraham around smelling 
the burning. flesh of. human sacrifice might get tired; 
it would be enough to make a government mule tired. 
Still we hear the people praying to that God of human 
sacrifice that liked to smell the burning flesh. 

Who can conceive a more detestable proposition as 
is shown in the old Hebrew Scriptures. These ancient 
priests and prophets and individuals as well, using the 
life blood of animals and human beings also, to ap- 
pease the wrath of a mythical man God that never 
had any existence, and then to burn their flesh on 
altars as a sweet savor to this same God, and all this 
insane performance was to jolly this mythical God 
and thereby gain that God's good will and favor in 
helping them kill, slaughter and exterminate some 
wealthy nation in order to get their wealth and their 
virgins for prostitution purposes, as they did with the 
Midianites. See page 169. After priests and prophets 
go through all this detestable business of jollying their 
man God they call up their army and tell them that 
certain wealthy nation is under the wrath of God, 
and to go and destroy that nation, and they go to 
and destroy that nation and take their money, prop- 
erty, virgins and lands as this mythical man God, that 
never had any existence, had told them to do. The 
whole of the old Hebrew Scriptures should be drama- 
tized and exhibited everywhere, even in the man God 
worshipers' churches, and in that way show up their 
sordid and villainous characters. 



CHAPTER 5. 

THE FIRST EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN 
RACE WAS ON THE GREAT CONTI- 
NENTS AROUND THE POLES. 

The human race began their existence on the earth 
on the great continents around the poles, probably 
about 100,000 years ago, or just after the post-tertiary 
period. The great mammoths, with the flesh still on 
and their skeletons as well as the skeletons of other 
large animals are found frozen in the ice and earth 
matter, probably 100,000 years in the past on these 
then great continents which first had a tropical cli- 
mate and a moist, rich soil, assisted by the carbon in 
the atmosphere, causing vegetation to come forth in 
immense quantities, making it possible for these gigan- 
tic animals to flourish there, and when these conti- 
nents were gradually covered with ocean water, and 
the climate becoming frigid, these great animals per- 
ished, and the icebergs carried them or their bones, 
together with millions of tons of rocks, gravel and 
earth matter, and where they grounded, melted and 
were left where they fell, covered by the earth matter. 
One great mammoth, having been left near Osceola, 
on the Osage river in Missouri, and its skeleton was 
uncovered and reclaimed by Dr. Koch, conveyed to 
Jefiferson City by five heavy wagons and shipped to 
the London museum, for which he received about 
fifty thousand dollars. St. Petersburg, Russia, now 
has a skeleton of a great mammoth found frozen in 
the ice of Northeastern Siberia. 

59 



60 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The outline skeletons of the great animals found 
on the east slope of the Rocky Mountains shows them 
to have been ten times larger than the mammoth, 
which likely found their present location by the float- 
ing ice fields. The femur bone that was in Barnum's 
museum in New York City in 1862, fourteen inches 
in diameter, with a marrow cavity large enough to 
roll a ten-inch cannon ball in and out of it, indicating 
the whole bone to have been over sixteen feet long, 
with joint ends thirty inches in diameter. Just think 
of the size of the animal of which this bone was a 
part of his framework. A mammoth alongside of 
him would look like a goat alongside of a mammoth. 
Such a bone would indicate an animal 80 feet high, 
150 feet long from eye to tail — not counting snout, 
tusk or tail — with hide from one to two feet thick, 
and a capacity to swallow a mammoth as easy as a 
duck could a June bug. Armour's packing force scat- 
tered over his carcass would look like a drove of little 
red ants scattered over the carcass of a 3,000 pound 
steer. It would take the longest railway train pulled 
by" the biggest Mogul engine to move the contents of 
such an animal, and then stall on the first grade. 
Should he be on the right-of-way of a railway, and 
the train should interfere, he could with one paw, box 
it olT the track with the ease that a grizzly bear could 
a small dog. If it were possible for him to be run- 
ning around these days, and he should take a walk 
up the business street of New York City, and change 
his mind and turn around, with horn under archway, 
and with a flip of his tail, the skyscrapers would tum- 
ble like a boy's cob house, and it is also likely that the 
people there were on the same grand scale, and that 



THE FIRST EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN RACE. 61 

it were they who w^ere cast away on some great ice 
float, and peopled the sunken continent of Atlantis 

When the Western Hemisphere was raised above 
the ocean, Atlantis went down, the remnant of these 
great people, which still exist in Patagonia, from which 
these giants are traced by their human tracks in the 
solid stone of the Andes, Honduras, and under forty 
feet of quarry stone in Nevada, twenty-two inches 
long and six inches wide, and probably originated on 
the great continent around the South Pole, near the 
close of the post-tertiary period. The skeleton of a 
woman sixteen feet high, found in Southern Kentucky, 
which it took two gallons of rye to fill the inside of 
her skull. The human skeleton found in a phosphate 
bed in South Carolina, whose height was over seven- 
teen feet, and was six feet across the shoulders, with 
head twenty-two inches in diameter, was likely one of 
the last of the Atlantis , from which the ocean takes 
its name. Also, the large human tracks in the solid 
stone in Western North Carolina, and human bones 
blasted out of the solid bedrock twelve feet below the 
ocean, from the bottom of the Saint John's river by 
United States Government while improving the river, 
and all remember the great Goliah and giants of bible 
history in Eastern Europe, which likely came from the 
north of Asia; all tending to confirm the contention 
that these great people that once inhabited the earth, 
came about the same time as the other great animals, 
and that all animate and inanimate life first came to 
the earth on the great continents around the poles, 
originated by the direct impulse of God, and likely 
were of much greater perfection than now, especially 



62 PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

the people of degraded character, filthy habits, and 
dwarfed bodies, having no religious freedom, being 
church dupes and slaves bound down to the erroneous 
idea of a Man-God who delights more in their punish- 
ment than in their happiness. The whole plan of all 
church Avorship is to approach God, trembling with 
debasing fear, which results in reducing the human 
race to the lowest depths of degradation and igno- 
rance. To all of which they have been trained and 
dragged into by Priest and Preachercraft through the 
Man-God idea. The primitive people knew nothing 
of such a God, Heaven, Hell, or Eternal Life of joy 
or punishment after death. They had nothing to 
wish for only their well-being and welfare of others. 
They knew nothing of the wily ways of Priest and 
Preachercraft to rob them of the earnings of their 
labor, fatigue, sweat, and toil. They had never heard 
of such drones. Looking into the great mystic past 
by scientific observation of the greatest human rea- 
soners given as a general consensus, that tHe great 
white human race had their first existence on the 
Ganges River, in India, through the Albino process of 
breeding, and developed by the laws of human tem- 
perament into all the white nations of the earth, num- 
bering approximately four hundred million white peo- 
ple, and the black and colored people of the earth, 
numbering ten hundred million. 

I was just thinking that I would like to be carried 
back about fifty thousand years, and meet those big 
men on a hunt, carrying guns twenty feet long, loaded 
for big game, with five pound balls ; where would the 
Roosevelt lion hunters come in? Then I was in Dream- 
land. I was in the widest, finest and greatest road 
through an immense forest mingled with flowers 



THE FIRST EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN RACE. 63 

large enough to sleep in over night. Then I saw a 
house. The doors about eight feet wide and twenty 
feet high. 

Then, I realized that I had really gone fifty thou- 
sand years in the past, and was in a city of high 
houses and big doors. Then the big people gathered 
art)und me, and they understood all I said and gave 
me some grapes as big as the largest apples, and the 
men were large enough to carry two like me around 
in a hand-bag. They asked me who I was, and where 
I was from. I found that I could not talk of the 
past, but only of the present, and what I had learned. 
I told them that we little white people originated on 
the Ganges river in India, and had increased to hun- 
dreds of millions, made many inventions, carried com- 
merce, education, enlightenment and civilization to 
all parts of the central portion of the great earth, that 
the little black people originated in hollow trees in 
Australia, and now number three-fourths of the little 
people on my part of the earth, and that they were the 
little white people's burden, and that the world would 
be a great deal better off without them ; that their 
existence was a great mistake of the originating ma- 
chinery, and it was a great misfortune, and now that 
we have found the best part of the earth and the great- 
est type of all the human race, that we would move 
over and live with them, and leave the little black 
people on the poor rocky soil, destroy the traveling 
stations, burn the bridges, and never allow the black 
race to find the heaven of bliss. There we would rest 
under the great vines and fruit trees, and sleep sound, 
with nothing to disturb our slumbers ; where no rep- 
tiles, poison insects, blue-tail flies or mosquitos are 



64 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

ever seen; cows that give a barrel of milk at a milk- 
ing, bee hives as big as a government courthouse, 
stingless bees as big as turkey gobblers, bringing a 
quart of honey each trip from flowers three yards 
across. Truly, the land of milk and honey, and with 
the fountain of youth to quench our thirst, keep us 
clean, young and beautiful during life's limit of ^00 
years. 

The ugly, the deformed, the imbecile, the imper- 
fect, the dwarf and criminals are given extract of 
poppy, and sleep in peace which are so many barnacles 
cut off to purify the race, lessen crime, increase phy- 
sical strength, longevity, beauty of form, and happi- 
ness of the living; then the harps of a thousand strings 
fifty feet high, and violins as big as street cars, dis- 
pensing music in harmony with 5,000 singers that 
could be heard forty miles, the dance would go mer- 
rily on. Just think of the rustling of 200 .yards of 
silk that each lady would wear, and the silk hats of 
the gentlemen that would hold four bushels of corn. 
These big men would want our pretty girls for Dolly 
Varden wives, and our little men could never get too 
much wife. She could spank him round when needed 
and carry him around in her hand satchel when he 
was too tired. O, wouldn't that be delightful ! 

The people live temperate lives, they never pray, 
being honest, charitable, just and truthful ; they have 
nothing to fear from a just, loving Divinity. When 
the time comes for them to die, they bid all good-bye, 
take their portion and sleep in peace, laid in the 
ground, no monuments allowed. They marry at ma- 
turity, ladies at fifty, gentlemen at sixty years, by 
application to the marriage commissioners, who have 



THE FIRST EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN RACE. 65 

them examined by a board of five professors on hu- 
man temperaments, as to their adaptability and effect 
that such a union might have on the intelHgence, phy- 
sical strength, perfection of form, and beauty of the 
human race, and if found satisfactory, the commis- 
sioners grant the permit, and the judge of matrimony 
performs the ceremony, pronouncing them man and 
wife, and gives them advice on good morals now that 
they are married for all time, and never divorced in 
life nor death, as no man or woman can be married 
but once. 

The number of children being limited to three by 
the marriage unions, and if the fourth child is born, 
they are heavily fined, and if the fifth child is born, 
the wife takes her portion and sleeps in peace. 

The laws are made by twenty out of forty pa- 
triarchs under a fixed constitution 40,000 years old, 
who holds office during life, which is fixed at 300 years, 
and when one dies another one is added from the sub- 
stitute twenty, the oldest coming first each time and 
the people elect another one to take his place. All 
executive officers serve one year only and without 
pay. Their duties being limited as all violations of 
the law mean death. In the list of small offenses the 
pardoning board can grant a pardon twice, but the 
third offense, no matter how trivial, means death. 

It^ is impossible to tell all that I saw and heard in 
this short article. When aroused from my slumber it 
appeared to me that I had been living with the great 
people, studying their laws and their ways for a whole 
year, when I had slept only two hours. If I could have 
slept longer I might have found out how long they 
had occupied the country and from whence they came. 

5 



66 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

. It is beyond the ken of human apprehension from 
where and when the human being as well as all other 
animals that now are, or ever have been on earth 
come from, or how or when or by what process of 
origination caused their existence. 

When we know that ivory hunters of Africa and 
Southern Asia, can and do also find ivory- in North 
British America, Northern Siberia and all round the 
Arctic Circle, which shows that these large tropical 
animals once inhabited these regions before the east- 
ern and western hemispheres were raised above the 
oceans, and as many of these large animals are also 
found embedded in the solid bedrock, and it is also 
shown that these big giant people by their tracks and 
skeletons were in existence about the same age possi- 
bly over 100,000 years in the past, and were yet in 
Bible times, and to some extent are yet, having be- 
come dwarfed by the inbreeding with smaller races of 
people. It is yet likely that the giant Patagonians, if 
bred with science and skill, might be brought back to 
their ancient prestige of sixteen to eighteen feet in 
height and tip the scales at one thousand pounds. 
When we proceed in our thorough investigation of 
the earth, how formed, when formed, the length of 
time consumed in formation, the kind of material used 
in each and every stratum, the first signs of animal 
life formed under water and first animal life above 
the water on the land and the air above the land, such 
as the feathered tribe. Then the great Reptilian period 
extending for a great age, and in size from the minute 
to that of enormous proportions, and were carnivorous 
consuming animal life both in water and on the land, 
feasting on one another, the larger devouring the 



THE FIRST EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN RACE. 67 

smaller, no mercy being used. These reptiles were 
from length and size of a pencil to possibly 300 feet 
in length, sixty feet circumference of body and mouth 
the size of a city church door, and having consumed 
about all in sight died, and their bodies were embedded 
in the soft unhardened stone where their outlines 
are traced by the investigators. Their bones compos- 
ing vertebral columns (backbone) lay about the great 
museums, thirty inches in diameter with rib-bones 
large as an eight-inch stove pipe fifteen feet long. The 
large flipper or side propeller bones of the great water 
dragons, thirty inches wide and eighteen feet long, and 
when filled out with tenacious ligamentous covering 
as in life, was about twenty-four feet long and six feet 
wide and used to overtake their prey. The passing of 
the Reptilian Period was followed by flesh-eating and 
the vegetable-eating land animals, and it was at this 
age of geological history that the human beings made 
their appearance and commenced to assert their au- 
thority. They having no knowledge of metals, all of 
their implements for defence, war, and the cultivation of 
the soil were made of wood and stone : bound together 
by sinews, ligaments and jawhide of animals. The flint 
pointed javelin, the bow and the flint-pointed arrow, 
the stone battle-ax, the flint hoe, the flint plow, and the 
poison arrow, was their stock in' trade for peace, de- 
fence, and war. They lived on high places, in cliffs, 
caverns and in villages over lakes. This defenceless 
human race had the organism and brain to conquer 
and possess the whole earth and bring order out of 
chaos, and whose authority is not disputed. 



CHAPTER 6. 

WHAT CONSTITUTES THE UNIVERSALUM, 

OR ORBIT OF THE UNIVERSE 

(SOLAR SYSTEM). 

The Universe is such amount of ethereal space as 
is occupied by the Planets, Asteroids and Satellites 
as they revolve around the sun. The Universalum is 
such amount of ethereal space as is enclosed by the 
ellipse or orbit of the Universe or Universes, as they 
revolve around some great magnetic center, whose 
force holds them to their orbits, and there may be 
many universes in the Universalum at great or less 
distance from the great magnetic center, as per their 
composition to receive or reject the magnetic force 
governing them. The ellipse, or boundary of the Uni- 
versalum, is of such extent that the universe, moving 
at the rate of 500,000,000 miles a year, it would re- 
quire about 500,000 years to make one trip or one Uni- 
versalum year, and the great sun star Arcturus, prob- 
ably 50,000 times larger than our sun, is near the 
south end of the ellipse, and the star Polaris, near the 
north end of the ellipse, and as our changing climates 
are now moving to and toward the equator, indicat- 
ing that the universe is now about half way in its on- 
ward sweep towards the Polaris end of the ellipse, 
and will sweep past that perfect cold region in about 
125,000 years, where most of the Planets, Asteroids 
and Satellites of the solar system are enveloped in 
that deep unwakable sleep of absolute zero, and as it 

68 



WHAT CONSTITUTES A UNIVERSALUM. 69 

sweeps south for about 25,000 years, the rays of our 
sun aided by the rays of the great sun star Arcturus, 
cause the equatorial frigid climate to be converted into 
the temperate climate, and temperate climate into the 
tropical climate, and the tropical climate into the 
torrid climate, and all move to the poles ; vegetable 
and animal life reappear and exist on the earth for 
about 200,000 years, and disappear when the universe 
is about 25,000 years to its nearest proximity to the 
great sun star Arcturus, about 100,000,000 miles due 
south of it, where the heat is incandescent Caloric 
and where cold is never known, and will be converted 
into aeriform fluid and fully charged with incandes- 
cent Caloric to last until it returns from its great whirl 
around the Polaris end of the ellipse, while the uni- 
verse in its onward sweep towards the Polaris end 
of the ellipse for about 25,000 years ; the earth will be 
reformed and be the happy abode of animal and 
vegetable life for about 200,000 years ; and the climate;? 
beginning at and around the poles, first the torrid 
climate, then the tropical climate, then the temperate 
climate, then the frigid climate, and all move to the 
equator. At which time the universe will be about 
25,000 years of its nearest proximity to the star Po- 
laris, and when the frigid climate holds the equator 
in its grasp, the universe is then due north of the star 
Polaris, about 100,000,000 miles, sweeping again south 
for about 25,000 years where the universe will dress 
in new spring suit, and smile on another celestial 
spring, summer and fall of 200,000 years. Let it be 
observed that vegetable and animal life cease to exist 
and reappear twice on the earth, and other planets in 
every universalum year, once after heat and once 



70 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

after cold, and that the earth and other planets are 
unformed and reformed once in each universalum 
year. 

The foundation of all language, all laws of the 
heavens and the earth, are based on opposition, or the 
positive and negative principle. Where there is a 
positive, there must be a negative. Where there is 
heat, there must be cold. All the most intelligent 
thinkers of ancient and modern times are firm in the 
belief that there is a hot place and a cold place on the 
orbit of the universe. Heat forms everything con- 
structed out of matter. Heat unforms and reforms 
everything that is made, as without heat no change 
can take place in matter or material things having a 
body substance. The above outlined description of 
the orbit of the universe and extent of universalum^ 
and the manner of operation, are purely my own ideas, 
and there is no contention that the time and distance 
given are correct, as there are not enough astronomical 
facts known, to give anything definite as to time and 
distance of the orbit of the universe, or the extent of 
the universalum, and probably never will be known. 
The Great Caloric Body that works over and trans- 
forms Satellites, Asteroids, Planets and Universes, 
may be the great sun star Vega, Arcturus, Procyon or 
some other great luminary, it matters not, so the 
results materialize. With the surface of the earth at 
the equator going east over 1,000 miles an hour, and 
the earth at the same time sweeping its orbit about 
66,000 miles an hour, and the universe with our world, 
all the Planets, Asteroids and Satellites, sweeping an 
indefinite but great and unknown distance in the great 
speed of its orbit, outlining the boundary of the great 



WHAT CONSTITUTES A UNIVERSALUM. 71 

Universaltim, with 10,000 Universalums extending in 
all directions, each enlarging 10,000 fold on the one 
left behind ; ad infinitum, until a thousand milky ways 
have been pulled down and cast to the rear, still there 
is a hot place, and a cold place, duration, motion, 
power, force, magnetism, gravitation, contraction, ex- 
pansion, attraction, repulsion, electricity, vegetable 
and animal life, light, darkness, ethereal space filled 
with earth matter, broken stones. Nebulas, Satellites, 
Asteroids, Planets, Suns, Universes, Universalums, 
thousands of brilliant stars and milky ways still in 
sight, with the greatest of them all. Intelligence (God), 
to govern and control all throughout infinitude. 
(Plenty of space for human souls, but where?) An- 
swer, nowhere, as a thing wholly imaginary cannot 
occupy any space. 

The human soul is wholly an imaginary thing, 
which can and does have many long and varied ex- 
planations by priests, preachers, prelates and God 
worshiping dignitaries ; but never by the more highly 
educated scientists and philosophers who obtains and 
derives their conclusions from facts, truths and rea- 
sons. A myth can never be made to stand before 
science and be counted. Intelligence, life and Caloric 
(heat) are all eternal and infinite and can not be seen 
by a finite human being. Intelligence acting in space 
and. duration and in harmony with all the other 
eternal things can cause a union of intelligence, 
life, caloric and matter, and that union we call ani- 
mate and inanimate life in all the animal and 
vegetable kingdom on the earth, and man • being 
finite can not see life, but can only see the effects of 
the union which we call life. Intelligence is God and 
God is perfection and needs no human worship. All 



72 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

that seek God will find God. All that seek Intelli- 
gence will find Intelligence. We build school houses, 
colleges and universities to assist in finding Intelli- 
gence, in finding God. 

O drivelling and degraded people why bow your 
necks to the slavery of human worship of a man God. 
Why longer put your hard earned money in the priests 
and preachers pockets, and your labor, toil, sweat and 
drudgery into millions of church buildings for the 
worship of a man God, all wasted on the priests, 
preachers and their mythical imaginary Gods. The 
great eternal perfect Intelligence (God) does not 
need your money or your assistance. It is not at 
all necessary for you to ask God for anything, as 
everything you really need is right here on the earth. 
Help yourself and help your fellow man when in need. 
Put your money you can spare over and above a com- 
fortable living into schools of philosophy, science, in- 
ventions and discoveries, based on facts, truths and 
reasons. Then you will have yourselves in direct com- 
munication with all the God this world is heir to, and 
all the people will become more intelligent by continu- 
ously absorbing intelligence from the inexhaustible In- 
telligence (God), that fills the eternal, unlimited infini- 
tude, and what you have been able to receive do not 
obscure the light of your wisdom but let it shine forth 
that all mankind may be benefited by your having 
once inhabited this beautiful earth. Remember that 
in the eternal duration that your stay here on this 
earth is but a fleeting moment, and your time for 
action is the ever (now) (now) (now) (now) (now). 
Abandon biblical theology and take up geology and 
the eternal fixed rules that govern the earth, the 



WHAT CONSTITUTES A UNIVERSALUM. 73 

heavens and the eternal unlimited infinitude. Study 
the earth as it is the only planet we have or can have 
any immediate and intimate acquaintance with, and 
that is the only way we can get the most perfect idea 
of the purpose and use of all other planets and sys- 
tems of planets is by the studying of our own much 
loved and admired world, and when we realize that its 
construction was consummated by the direct impulse 
of the great Intelligence (God), acting in harmony 
with all the other eternal things which have a co- 
existence with Intelligence (God). While human fin- 
ite intelligence can not fathom eternity or the infinite 
or the unlimited infinitude, we can by the study of 
astronomy and astronomical science be able to get 
a fair idea of the distance and movement of the heaven- 
ly bodies of matter in space as they are governed and 
controlled by the eternal things ; and we can so en- 
large our vision by the use of greater and most per- 
fect telescopes that we can see through hundreds of 
billions of miles and see twenty million suns (great 
Caloric bodies), radiating heat to their surrounding 
planetary systems of Universes and Universalums. 



CHAPTER 7. 

THE ETERNAL THINGS THAT NEVER WERE 
CREATED AND NEVER WH.L BE DE- 
STROYED NOR CEASE TO EXIST. 

The Eternal, Unlimited, Unchangeable Ethereal 

Space. 
The Eternal, Unlimited, Unchangeable Duration 

(Time). 
The Eternal, Unlimited Caloric and Negative Cold. 

The Eternal, Unlimited, Undestroyable Matter (Ma- 
terial) . 
The Eternal, Unlimited Light and Negative Darkness. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Electricity and its Attractions, 

The Eternal, Unlimited Cohesive Contraction and Ex- 
pansion. 
The Eternal, Unlimited Attraction and Repulsion. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Gravitation Attraction. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Power, Motion and Force. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Orbital Motion of Planets 
and Comets. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Power that controls Orbital 
Motion. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Structural Affinity in Forma- 
tions. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Origination and Dissemina- 
tion. 

. 74 



ETERNAL THINGS THAT NEVER WERE CREATED. 75 

The Eternal, Unlimited Animate and Inanimate Life. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Terrestrial and Polar Mag- 
netism. 
The Eternal, Unlimited Diversity in Formations. 

The Eternal, Unlimited Change of Matter in Forma- 
tions. 
The Eternal, Unlimited, Unchangeable Natural Law. 

The Eternal, Unlimited, Unchangeable Intelligence, 
God. 

There can be no limits to ethereal space. If we 
were carried through ethereal space one million miles 
per second for one hundred million years, we could 
see from the place where we stopped, as many stars 
and planets as we can now see. The duration, the 
caloric, the cold, the light, the darkness, the cohesive 
contraction, and expansion, the attraction, the repul- 
sion, the power, the force, the orbital motion of planets 
and comets, the natural law, the electricity, the 
gravitation attraction, the attraction of structural 
affinity in formations, the origination, the dis- 
semination, the animate and inanimate life, the 
terrestrial and polar magnetism, the diversity in 
formation, the unlimited change in matter, are all 
eternal things to be and remain in ethereal space and 
duration as the attributes of, and controlled by the 
eternal, unlimited, unchangeable intelligence, the 
Emanuel, the Deity, the God, in all things. The 
greatest of all things that has an existence in the 
eternal, unlimited ethereal space. Intelligence, life, ca- 
loric, and matter enters into the construction of all 
mankind, the just and the unjust. Intelligence, life, 
caloric, and matter enters into the .construction of 



76 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

every living animate thing, from the smallest insects 
to the greatest mammoth and v/hale, and from the 
smallest blade of grass to the greatest of forest trees, 
and in death and segregation their bodies, being 
matter, return to the earth, and the intelligence, life 
and caloric, being eternal things, having no body sub- 
stance, still exist in infinitude, each in its own identity. 
No part of the eternal things is ever lost or destroyed. 
The same intelligence, life, caloric and matter that 
has existed in all past eternity is still in existence and 
in use at the present time, and for all future time. 

A school house is a place where, by precepts the 
mind is made competent to absorb intelligence that 
has existed throughout eternity. What is it that 
causes the breast and lungs to expand the first time, 
and the oxygenated air to rush into the lungs, giving 
the first breath and perfecting life — it is the expan- 
sion and contraction of eternity acted on by intelli- 
gence. Light, one of the attributes of caloric, is of 
such importance .that the whole plan of the heavens 
would be a failure without it, and darkness is of equal 
importance, as all animate and inanimate life is con- 
ceived in darkness. 

Caloric, acted on by intelligence, forms and un- 
forms all material things. Intelligence cannot do any- 
thing only in harmony with the natural law. Intelli- 
gence cannot do an impossibility. — There is no for- 
giveness in natural law. If violated, the penalty is 
certain. — Love, amativeness, benevolence, kindness, 
charity, virtue, ' forgiveness, justice, truth and right- 
eousness are the higher attributes of life. All man- 
kind are prone to do good, right and justice, but com- 
mit vile crimes, violate natural law, and do evil deeds 



ETERNAL THINGS THAT NEVER WERE CREATED. 77 

by premeditation and persuasive influences. Intelli- 
gence can originate and bring into existence and dis- 
seminate animal and vegetable formations, constructed 
out of matter that exists, and cause life to enter there- 
in, but cannot create the matter or the life. — Intelli- 
gence, acting on caloric, orbital motion, power and 
force, can disintegrate, unform and reform worlds, 
planets, comets and all heavenly bodies constructed 
out of matter, but cannot create caloric, orbital motion, 
power, force or matter. After the most careful, ex- 
haustive and profound investigation of the formation, 
structure and adaptability of the earth and its at- 
tributes, all human reason shows that it was made by 
a very high order of intelligence. In all the eternal, 
unlimited, unchangeable ethereal space, matter — solid, 
liquid, gaseous or aeriform — is the only thing that con- 
tains a material body substance. There is no sub- 
stance in the unoccupied ethereal space. There is 
no substance in duration. 

There is no substance in caloric. There is no sub- 
stance in cold. There is no substance in light. There 
is no substance in darkness. There is no substance 
in cohesive contraction and expansion. There is no 
substance in attraction and repulsion. There is no 
substance in gravitation attraction. There is no sub- 
stance in electricity and its attractions. There is no 
substance in terrestrial and polar magnetism or its 
attractions. There is no substance in power. There 
is no substance in motion. There is no substance in 
force. There is no substance in orbital motion of 
planets and comets. There is no substance in natural 
law. There is no substance in the power that controls 
orbital motion. There is no substance in origina- 



78 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

tion.. There is no substance in dissemination. 
There is no substance in structural affinity or any 
other affinity. There is no substance in animate oi 
inanimate life. There is no substance in diversity 
in formation. There is no substance in the 
change in matter in formations. There is no substance 
in intelligence which has for its attributes everything 
in the eternal, unlimited, unchangeable ethereal space. 
The highest, the greatest, the superlative, the supreme 
essence, the Emanuel, the Deity, the God that con- 
trols and rules the heavens and earth. There always 
has been great differences of opinion as to what is 
meant by the words "God" or "Deity." Put 100 men 
in a room and bring out one at a time and ask each 
to write down what he considers constitutes God. 
And when 100 have so written you will find 3^ou have 
100 Gods, all differ in their make-up and character. 
Some of the greatest prelates and dignitaries on the 
modes of human worship and authority on God says : 
God is an embodiment of intelligence and gives the 
attributes of God as omnipotent, omnipresent, omni- 
presence and obiquity in all eternity and infinitdde, 
and is everywhere with equal force and power. Now 
embodiment means concentration, to draw together, 
which would make less God in some places and more 
God in other places, both contradictory and absurd 
I say there is but one God, and that God is intelligence, 
existing equally everywhere in eternity and infinitude. 



CHAPTER 8, 

WHAT CONSTITUTES A HUMAN BEING AND 
WHAT CONSTITUTES TRUE RELIGION. 

A human being is composed of four eternal things 
— intelHgence, life, caloric and matter, and when in- 
telligence, life, and caloric separates from the body, 
the body is matter. The application of personality or 
gender to intelligence (God) is simply a great stretch 
of the imagination, and the theory set up by the clergy, 
that the earth was made especially to develop human 
spirit bodies with a personal identity, which at death 
passed from the earth in countless numbers to an 
eternal celestial abode of endless happiness or endless 
punishment, is an apologue myth. The object of such 
credulity is for the purpose of obtaining wealth and 
support during life from the ignorance of the human 
race. The arguments are always the same by all of 
the hundreds of church denominations. Pay the priest, 
support the church, and your eternal happiness is as- 
sured. But if 3^ou do not pay the clergy and sup- 
port the church, then an eternal hell of damnation 
awaits you. There is not now, or ever was, a spiritual 
body. Such expressions as the spirit of man, the 
spirit of God, God's spirit, spirit of the Lord, good 
spirit, evil spirit, Christ's spirit, spirit that walketh, 
angel of the Lord, spiritual being, etc., are all myth- 
ical expressions, do not and should not convey any 
meaning, as there is no God except Intelligence, and 
Intelligence has no real body or spiritual body. In- 

79 



80 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

telligence can pass through the greatest intensity of 
caloric, greatest light, greatest darkness, around the 
world, through cold steel, under the ocean, to the 
bottom of the sea and without limit in ethereal space. 
There is but one thing that has any body substance, 
and that is matter. Matter constitutes the body of all 
the planets and their attendant satellites, and the body 
of all the great caloric suns that store and radiate the 
eternal caloric (heat) to all parts of the Eternal Un- 
limited Ethereal Space and Infinitude. Matter is the 
body of all animals and vegetation on the earth, or 
that may be on any of the other planets, all or most of 
which are likely inhabited. 

The Nebulas being disintegrated planets or Sat- 
ellites, probably destroyed by explosion and aerolitic 
stones falling from these Nebulous formations shows 
the marks of human hands on them. 

The sectarian fanatical denominational expounder 
will stand and turn his eyes the reverse of gravita- 
tion, and offer up his prayers to his imaginary God up 
in Heaven above him. Now suppose he stood in the 
same position for twelve hours, his eyes would be 
looking in exactly the opposite direction from when 
he commenced to pray. The religious fanatic believes 
that there is some place away from the earth in 
ethereal space, a Heavenly abode where the spirit of 
the just go to after death. At the same time there 
is no such thing as spirit or God other than Intelli- 
gence, and ten miles from the earth the cold is about 
1000 degrees below zero, and further out still colder. 
The word spirit as applied to eternal life is a myth, and 
has no meaning. There is nothing eternal in a human 
being except Intelligence, life caloric and matter, and 



WHAT CONSTITUTES A HUMAN BEING. 81 

neither Intelligence, life or caloric has a body of any 
kind of substance, or any personal identity. The 
words Father, Son and Holy Ghost is another myth 
not in the scriptures and has no meaning, but invented 
by the writer of Matthew 28: 19. Then that trinity 
business is all mythology, and will not stand the force 
of reasons and criticism. There is no personality in 
Intelligence (God) nor three personal identities 
doubled up in one Godhead. The so-called scriptures 
has never brought peace and good-will to the human 
race, but war, turmoil and strife since their introduc- 
tion, and the people that inhabit the earth would be a 
hundredfold more blessed if the old Hebrew scriptures 
had been sunk in the deep ocean thousands of years 
ago and forgotten. There is something over thirteen 
hundred million people on the earth. Now suppose 
they all believed in some kind of an imaginary per- 
sonal God, and all of them of responsible age, say 
eight hundred million would the same day, all round 
the earth, stand and pray to their imaginary God. 
They would all pray to a different God, as no two 
human beings ever has, nor never will, make their 
imaginations the same. The eternal diversity makes It 
impossible for any two things on this earth or in the 
eternal, unlimited heavens to be the same, and never 
can be exactly alike. Here we have that immense 
throng with their head the reverse way of gravitation, 
making their supplications for their wrong doings, ask- 
ing forgiveness, praising and glorifying their imagin- 
ary God with great babble and roar, as they ride the 
earth from west to east over one thousand miles an 
hour, and being hurled through ethereal space on the 

6 



82 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

line of the earth's orbital motions over 66,000 miles 
an hour. Forty billion human beings come on the 
earth and leave in one thousand years, and when In- 
telligence, life and caloric separate from their bodies, 
their bodies being matter, returns to the earth, and In- 
telligence, life and caloric being eternal, remains in 
eternity the same as matter. 

Therefore, the intelligence in human beings is the 
Emanuel — the God of eternity, and the life in the 
human being is eternal life, and never ceases to exist. 
When Intelligence, life, and caloric separate from the 
human or animal body, we call such segregation death, 
but there is no destruction, for no part of the eternal 
things can be destroyed. The body is matter, and the 
Intelligence, life, and caloric still exist in eternity. 
The theory set up by bigoted sectarianism, Hebrew- 
ism, priest and preachercraft, that Intelligence, life, 
and caloric, when they leave the human body, still 
have a personal identity in a spiritual body and be- 
come eternal and exist somewhere in ethereal space 
in a state of endless happiness or endless damnation, 
is mythology by which the priest and clergy live sump- 
tuously from the sweat of the brow of ignorance by 
such hypocrisy. No human being ever has, or ever 
will be able to fathom the eternal things or the ex- 
tent of the supreme plan of eternity. 

Origination and dissemination, when acted upon 
by intelligence, cause the human race and other ani- 
mals with their bodies constructed out of matter, com- 
bined with Intelligence, life, and caloric, to inhabit the 
earth, but their existence is limited, as all matter con- 
tinues to change, and by death and disintegration they 



WHAT CONSTITUTES A HUMAN BEING. 83 

pass away, and others of their kind take their place, 
but the object and purpose of such habitation is a se- 
cret and hidden attribute of eternity, which no human 
being has ever known, or ever will know. No clergy- 
man or priest does know of any reward or punishment 
for the human race after death. Eternity, and all the 
attributes of eternity, are all silent on that subject, and 
when they preach of the glories, joys and happiness 
of their imaginary heaven, and the tortures of damna- 
tion in their imaginary hell, just count all such ignor- 
ant twaddle as mythology, the larger part of their 
stock in trade in their business. True religion, The 
Great Moral Way, is the same in all the human race. 
The attributes of true religion are Love, Truth, Justice, 
Honesty, Charity, Forgiveness, Kindness, Virtue, Mo- 
rality, Chastity, Uprightness, S3"mpathy, Benevolence 
and Goodness, which, if possessed by any human being, 
that human being has religion of the superlative de- 
gree, in any race or country. Every human being should 
strive to absorb and possess true religion, and strive to 
be good, and make others good and happy while here 
on earth. Should also declare their independence and 
become free men and w^omen, and make a study of their 
best interest, and for the best interest of all others, dis- 
pensing charity and enforcing good morals. 

In moral examples and precepts the teachings of 
Jesus Christ are not as good as that of Confucius, who 
lived some 550 years before Jesus Christ was born. 
There was really more Intelligence (God) within him 
and his moral precepts and teachings than in any of 
the past modes of worship. Commencing with Assy- 
rian, Accadian, Chaldean, Buddhism, Mohammedan- 



84 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS 

ism, Brahmanical religion and other ancient modes of 
human worship of a man God, from which the He- 
brew and Christian Bible were taken, forming the 
foundation of the Hebrew and Christian religion 
and modes of worshiping a man God. The one that 
showed his backparts and face to Moses and others. 
Every human being should get all the finite Intel- 
ligence that it is possible for them to acquire. They 
should keep themselves .clean, decent and respectable. 
Their admiration, love and animal passions should be 
controlled by a high standard of morals and chaste 
conduct. They should be kind, forgiving, charitable 
and benevolent, lending aid and assistance where de- 
serving and needed. In other words, they should have 
a practical and earthly religion for the benefit of an 
earthly heaven, by all doing their whole duty while 
here on earth. The human race had nothing to say 
as regards their existence on the earth, and they can 
have nothing to say as regards an eternity after death. 
When any priest or preacher starts to tell about what 
is to be had and done, in the eternal future beyond 
the grave, just tell the old sordid whistledicks that 
they are talking about what they or any other per- 
son on this earth knows nothing about, nor never will 
know. As to the impulse, the moving cause, that 
brought the human race and all animal life on the 
earth in the past, and what is beyond death and dis- 
solution in the future, no human being does know, 
now or ever has known. The morals of the priests 
and preachers are no better than the Freethinkers. 
Their bad morals are better obscured is all. Great 
piety hides great rascality. 



CHAPTER 9. 

THE WISE LIVE OFF THE IGNORANT, THE 
FOOLS AND THEIR MONEY PART. 

The two great barnacles of the human race are 
the gamblers and the priests or preachers. The busi- 
ness of both are on the same hypothesis, that ignor- 
ance owes them a living and support during life. Both 
dress sumptuously, both despise labor, both hate each 
other because what the gamblers get the priests or 
preachers think they should have had. The gamblers 
entice, beguile, lay get-rich-quick schemes of promised 
great wealth in money and the good things of this 
world; for all v^hich the ignorant piles their hard 
earned money into his lap of fortune, never to be re- 
turned. 

The preachers or priests belabors and expound their 
Hebrew and Christian mythology that every human 
being is full of sin and iniquity, and that all sinners 
not redeemed through and by the church, after death, 
go to an eternal hell of damnation, but if they will 
join the church, pay the priest or preacher, and sup- 
port the church, that after death they will go to an 
eternal heaven of glory and happiness, and that the 
money so paid is treasure laid up in heaven to their 
credit. For all of which the ignorant piles their hard 
earned money into the priests or preacher's lap of 
fortune never to return in this world or any world to 
come. For a thousand years prior to 1850, it was a 
dead scramble with about evenly divided either way 

85 



86 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

as to who would get the money of the ignorant, the 
gamblers or the priests and preachers. But smce 1850, 
the laws of the United States, and other nations gov- 
erning corporations, freight rates and trade have so 
favored the gamblers that they have got the greater 
part of money and wealth of the world, and are soon 
to get the rest unless there is some great change made 
from the present status of aiifairs, for the benefit of 
the human race. The clergy, the priests and the 
preachers are investing their salary in get-rich-quick 
schemes. Gambling in lotteries and board of trade 
gambling dens, showing that they believe that a dol- 
lar in hand here on the earth is better' than a thousand 
beyond the grave in an imaginary heaven. Over half 
the people (and the most intelligent as well) in the 
United States do not believe in the Hebrew and Chris- 
tian religions, and half of them that join such churches 
do so to stand in with the church people to get their 
money, trade, and votes at the election, on the basis 
of catch them going and catch them coming, as the 
church is just the best place on earth to set a trap for 
fools. When the people first came on the earth, some 
of the most crafty soon discovered that all mankind 
feared death, and took out perpetual letters patent 
on that fear. The people not only desired to live here 
on the earth, but they also desired to live after death. 
This has been the bulwarks of all church worship, 
and is the bulk of priest and priestcraft's stock-in- 
trade in their business, by building up a great heaven 
and a great hell beyond the grave, and by making it 
possible for the priest or preacher to send the mythical 
souls to an eternal heaven or to an eternal hell of 
damnation. Money paid the priest or preacher takes 



THE WISE LIVE OFF THE IGNORANT. 87 

the mythical soul to heaven, but if you pay no money 
the way to hell is sure. 

Could human ingenuity invent a more perfect trr^p, 
a regular deadfall, to catch the unlearned, untaught, 
and untutored, ignorant people of the human race, and 
shackle them to the church and their money to the 
priest and preachers' pockets, which are badly needed 
in their humble homes? 

Then comes mythology, expounding eternal life 
after death, and as there were good people and bad 
people, and the good people did not want to have the 
bad people go where they would go, then comes more 
mythology and with a great eternal, imaginary heaven 
of glory, joy and happiness for the good people and a 
great imaginary hell of damnation for the bad peo- 
ple. Then in order to sort out the good people 
from the bad people, comes more mythology proclaim- 
ing universal sin, that all were bad and none fit for 
heaven, only those who would repent of their evil 
deeds, join the church, pay the priests or preachers, 
and support the church, could ever enter into and 
dwell in the eternal heaven ; and all that were not re- 
deemed through the church would go after death to 
an eternal hell of damnation. 

By such accepted mythology, priest and preacher 
craft ruled supreme on earth, but there must be a ruler 
for heaven and ruler for hell. Then comes more myth- 
ology with an imaginary God in the form of a man, 
as supreme ruler of the heaven and the earth, with 
shining luster of glory, justice, goodness, forgiveness, 
and happiness; and. with an imaginary devil, also in 
the form of a man, as supreme ruler of the eternal 
hell, whose every thought and evil intent was to tor- 



88 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

tiire with unrelenting punishment of damnation the 
unredeemed after death. 

Here we have a vision shown up before us of an 
eternal trust in the profits of the earnings of the ig- 
norant of the human race. Priest and preachercraft, 
expounding on the sublimity of their imaginary God, 
and the glories and happiness of their imaginary- 
heaven, that the redeemed go to and possess forever 
and forever in eternity; having repented, joined the 
church, paid the priests, and supported the church. 
But if they reject the offer that this imaginary God will 
say to them after death : "Depart, ye cursed, to the 
hell of damnation prepared for those that reject the 
church." The orator belabors the congregation with 
his oily tongue, and even sheds tears of sympathy for 
the unrelenting and unregenerate until the boys and 
girls, and older people with more age than intelli- 
gence, tremble with fear, as they are told and made, 
believe, that all are full of sin and iniquity, and that 
they only can escape eternal punishment by repent- 
ance through the church. They tell all to come, thou.crh 
their sins be mountain high, ye heavy laden with the 
most vile sins and blackest crimes of villainy, by the 
grace of God's redemption all will be wiped away, and 
that they will dwell with God in the glorious heaven 
of peace and happiness. So while the brothers and 
sisters sing doxology, comes to God's redemption be- 
fore it is everlastingly too late, and there is a grand 
rush, and a great many connect themselves with the 
church, and their hard-earned money with the preach- 
er's pocket, which is the object to be accomplished by 
the whole scheme of mythical dead beat from start 
to finish. So it is now and' has been in all time past. 



THE WISE LIVE OFF THE IGNORANT. 89 

If the priest or preacher is not paid he ceases all in- 
terest in trying to help the Lord save souls. A God 
that needs help and is a needy God is worse than no 
God. The priest and preacher say they are working 
for the Lord, and no doubt they imagine they are 
helping God in getting many converts, and cheating 
the devil out of his just dues by increasing the church 
membership, resulting in more money for the priest 
and preachers' pockets. 

The great number of hallucinations, exaggerations, 
unmitigated lies, perfidy and falsehoods based on 
mythological imaginations (that no intelligent human 
being would ever believe) that are scattered through- 
out the Hebrew and Christian Bible fully illustrates 
the ignorance of the untutored and unlearned people 
that existed where and when that book was written, 
and for the howling clergy, priests and preachers to 
still be trying to stuff an enlightened people with such 
ignorant mythical twaddle is a disgrace to the human 
race, and that is the reason the most intelligent people 
of the world do not attend the churches. Lies and 
falsehoods are lies and falsehoods no rriatter wheie 
they are found. The so-called Holy Bible, loaded with 
mythical exaggeration, misrepresentations, lies and 
falsehoods, are unbelievable and unworthy of belief 
or acceptance as truth by the enlightened nations of 
the earth; but their great age lend enchantment to 
still make them attractive to the superstitious and un- 
informed people of the human race, but more so when 
forced on them by government protection and influ- 
ence, by Sunday laws, and otherwise depriving the 
people of the liberty of human conscience. Then that 
Saint John's mythicalbird cage city, that heavenly 



90 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Jerusalem, where every man-God worshiper expects to 
have a home in a glorious eternity, 1,500 miles square 
on the foundation, and the same in height, with 
outside walls about 200 feet thick, and the whole on 
only twelve foundations, with the gates 300 miles 
apart, and I suppose the elevators being run by gravi 
tation attraction, reversed at will by the operator, 
sending them up 1,500 miles and down again with per- 
fect safety, and all could have a change of climate at 
any time, as the top story would be about 1,500 degrees 
below zero. Talk about fixing the ground for a world's 
fair site, as when the people got word it was coming, 
there would be some rustling around to get the foun- 
dation ready, moving mountains, and leveling up 1,500 
miles square. 

The newly embodied righteous dead are all to walk 
on the inside of the city, but the railways would have 
business carrying the ten hundred thousand billions' 
of the righteous dead and just a few living saints. In 
ancient times there were plenty of saints, but they are 
almighty scarce these days. Then walking would be 
good with the streets so nicely paved, and the gates 
only 300 miles apart. The distance from the center 
of the city to the gates would be only 750 miles, but 
a walking angel could make that easy enough before 
breakfast. 

Then again, while the 1,500 mile square cube city 
was being lowered to the earth by a mythical cable 
hooked fast to ethereal space, and the surface of the 
earth at the- same time moving from west to east 1,000 
miles an hour, there might be some difficulty in land- 
ing it just square and plumb on the foundation; say 
somewhere about the central part of North America; 



THE WISE LIVE OFF THE IGNORANT. 91 

and if the gravitation attraction and the rotary motion 
of the earth were the same as now, the whole thing — 
mythical God, angels, saints and all — would be landed 
in the North Atlantic Ocean, connecting America with 
•Europe and Asia, and raising the ocean water, inundat- 
ing all low countries and coast towns and cities of the 
earth. 

When we know that an aerolitic stone of a ton 
weight, by gravitation attraction 'is drawn to the earth 
with sufficient force to penetrate the solid earth from 
twenty to forty feet, we can get some idea of the force 
that Saint John's mythical city would strike the earth, 
and where it would go to, with the surface of the 
earth at the same time going east 1,000 miles an hour. 
Then to see the mythical incantations and hallucina- 
tions of the Hebrew and Christian man-God worship- 
ers in their effusion of pious cant, with their eyes 
rolled up like dying calves as they sing: 

Jerusalem, my happy home. 

When shall I come to thee? 
When will my sorrows have an end? 

Thy joys, when shall I see? 

Saint John, the poor old imbecile, did not know that 
the earth was round, that it turned over every twenty- 
four hours, that there was any gravitation attraction, 
that ten miles from the earth the cold was about 1,000 
degrees below zero, or that no human being could live 
ten miles from the earth, not even a mythical man 
god ; and if he was roaming around in any part of the 
United States, he would be in the insane asylum in 
less than a week. And still the preachers quote ex- 
tensively from. Saint John's Revelations, 



92 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The United States should not protect missionaries 
on any part of the earth not under the jurisdiction of 
the United States. They have no business there, and 
no legal right there, and they cause national complica- 
tions much to our disadvantage, and do harm instead 
of good to the people where they go. The money 
spent in that way should go to the poor and destitute 
at home, who need every dollar that charity can fur- 
nish. The liberal rriinded people should build for 
themselves nice lecture halls, where they could meet in 
intellectual intercourse, and in that way acquire a 
knowledge of the earth, heavens, all the eternal things, 
their use, power, force, and sphere of action, the 
thousands of known scientifically discovered and 
proven facts, thereby increasing the perceptions of the 
human nervous action to make further and greater 
discoveries in originations and inventions, forcing the 
eradication of mythology and mythological influences 
from mankind. Every subject should be discussed 
from the human foot-tracks in the solid stones of the 
earth to the circling planets and the flying comets of 
the skies ; the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms ; 
life, animate, inanimate and eternal ; the finite and the 
infinite ; the God of all eternity ; the great infinitude 
and things therein; human worship of God, why, and 
reasons for, if any. Let the priests and preachers ex- 
plain why we should try to make a perfect God more 
perfect by human worship, then have a first-class critic 
overhaul and cut out all the faulty mythological twad- 
dle, false and erroneous things set forth, bringing out 
the true facts, truths and reasons, causing bigotry and 
church dogmas to disappear, thereby wiping away the 
human worship of God nuisance, the greatest curse of 



THE WISE LIVE OFF THE IGNORANT. 93 

the human race. God is perfect, and cannot be as- 
sisted. 

All the ancient uncivilized or partly civilized people 
on the earth lived in a state of fetishism and fetishes, 
phantoms and apparitions were in their minds and 
imaginations. When any man appeared to them and 
said he was God, and began to flatter their vanity, and 
making a covenant with them, coupled with great 
promise of worldly possessions, they believed every 
word that such God told them was a true prophecy, 
and would come to pass ; and when such a fetish was 
blessing old Sarah with his cordelle appendage (Gen. 
21 : 1), and when the same fetish was making his cove- 
nant with old Abraham by the greatest curse this 
world has ever known, by beguiling iiifluence, forcing 
that entirely unnecessary, filthy, absurd and most 
detestable circumcision on the whole Hebrew nation 
for all future time (Gen. 17: 10-14), and this fetish 
God could only know the people by the circumcision 
mark, same as a herder knows his stock, such loath- 
some effrontery to human intelligence that this ab- 
surd and disgusting circumcision was to make the 
Hebrew nation the most favored people on the earth, 
which all history shows that they are now, and al- 
ways have been, the most despised and persecuted 
people tl^at breathes air or that enjoys human ex- 
istence. Circumcision to a great extent destroys the 
pleasures of sexual intercourse in both the husband 
and wife, and this fact is firmly fixed and well ground- 
ed in all the uncircumcised people on the whole earth. 
It also has the effect to stultify the mind, as, how many 
of the great inventions and scientific discoveries have 
been brought to light for the benefit and well-being 



94 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of the human race by the Hebrews? Their history 
in this line of thought is almost a blank. The intel- 
ligence (God) of all eternity and infinitude is perfect, 
and all the works of God are perfect, and the sexual 
organs of the human race are in the superlative de- 
gree perfection. Then to see the old Hebrew rabbi 
around with his knife and clippers, trying to make the 
sexual organs more perfect, that God had made per- 
fect, by setting up his stupid opinion that he could 
vastly improve what God had made perfect. Such 
stupidity can only have a resting place in ignorance. 
The Hebrews should cast the old filthy God of Abra- 
ham in the junk pile, and step out under the liberty 
tree of Facts, Truths and Reasons, and in the lan- 
guage of Ruth say, *' Where all the good people go 
I will go." 

There is no such thing as sin. Sin is an invention 
of priest and preachercraft of all human worship. Sin 
is based on the existence of a soul, or spiritual immor- 
tality after death, which has never been proved, nor 
never will be proved, for such does not exist, nor never 
has existed. All that any fanatical religion expounder 
can offer as proof is some old, mythical, ancient, un- 
truthful manuscripts, which no learned judge of juris- 
prudence would recognize or admit such evidence to 
be considered. Everything that has life on this earth 
has also the other three associates combined — intelli- 
gence, life, caloric and matter; all of which are eter- 
nal before and after segregation (death). There is n'o 
proof whatever of anything in the form of a living, 
eternal, spiritual existence before or after death. So 
that sin is wholly imagination of some great imaginary 
punishment that will follow, and afflict with great un- 



THE WISE LIVE OFF THE IGNORANT. 95 

ceasing distress on some imaginary mythical spirit that 
the church bigot imagine flies away at death. All 
the arguments of the priests and preachers as to the 
spiritual existence after death is pure mythical wind, 
for the money that can be got from the ignorance of 
the human race. The more ignorance, the more money 
they get. 

When the people are sufficiently educated and pos- 
sessed of enough finite Intelligence to leave the word 
sin out of all dictionaries, and leave out the many myth 
meanings given as definitions of the word spirit. The 
recognition of an immortal spirit that still lives and 
has an immortal existence after death is now, and in 
all the great past, has been the greatest curse the 
human race has ever been afflicted with. No such 
meaning of the word spirit should be allowed in the 
language. The word spirit has many valuable mean- 
ings, but is a myth when applied to immortality or 
an endless future after death. There is no truthful 
evidence of a spiritual existence after death. All the 
evidence that has ever come to the human race of a 
spiritual existence after death has come through 
prophecy, which at this day and time is recognized 
as a lying myth, fostered and perpetuated by lying 
and untruthful priests and preachercraft as their best 
stock in their trade. A spiritual existence after death 
is as great a myth and as big a lie as witchcraft ever 
was, and still the people allow themselves imposed 
upon by priest and preacher-craft for the money they 
can get from such contemptible lying inventions. 
There you will see the good old Moses, and Jerusalem, 
your happy home, if you pay enough. 



CHAPTER 10. 

CRITICISMS ON THE FABULOUS LIES IN THE 
BIBLE. 

In the beginning, (lie). There never was any be- 
ginning. God created the Heavens and the Earth, 
(lie). God never created any of the eternal things. 
If so, who created God? The eternal things, such as 
Intelligence (God), ethereal space, duration, matter, 
caloric, and all other eternal things have a co-existence 
and co-extent with Intelligence (God) throughout all 
past and future eternity. 

The whole of Genesis is a mythical fable, fabrica- 
tion, fiction and falsehood, intended to deceive, con- 
trol and rule the ignorant people in favor of the Levites 
and priests and preachercraft. The whole of the He- 
brew and Christian Bible from start to finish was, and 
is, based on mythology and false foundation. First an 
imaginary God, in the form of a man, who had sons, 
and by inference, a he God, a she God, sons and 
daughters. No masculine gender can exist without a 
feminine gender. There can be no sons without there 
are daughters, no positive without a negative. This 
great, powerful, almighty masculine Hebrew and 
Christian God, and supposed to be possessed of all 
past and future knowledge throughout all past and 
future eternity, being embraced in this God's make- 
up ; when pleased, was all love, justice, kindness, ten- 
derness, forbearance and forgiveness ; but if some of 
this God's poor, ignorant people (which the same God 
had brought into existence by creative fiat) disobeyed 

96 



FABULOUS LIES IN THE BIBLE. 97 

by error or lack of knowledge, this God's wrath knew 
no bounds. This same God created a great heaven 
and a great hell, and created a good people whose fu- 
ture existence would forever dwell in the great eternal 
heaven, and created a bad people whose future exist- 
ence would forever dwell in the great eternal hell ; and 
then created a great devil, and nicknamed the devil 
as Satan, to rule over the great hell. And when the 
sons of this same God made a feast, Satan was there 
as an invited guest, in council with this same God in 
regard to their mixed business. 

This same God had made a great blunder and mis- 
take when creating the people, and it grieved this God, 
who repented, and got old Noah to help and carry 
over some human seed, while this same God destroyed 
all the other people by water baptism after a slight 
shower of rain, and took a new start. The spirit of 
this God moved; so this God had a spirit to succeed 
this same God in some superlative God Heaven, being 
the same as mankind, a stepping stone to a future 
mythical existence. Oh, but that was a lovely God — 
mean, deceitful, vulgar, and ignorant as Balaam's ass ; 
and at the same time there is no such thing as spirit 
in Intelligence (God) or mankind.^ All such writings 
are pure, simple bombast. The idea that Intelligence 
(God) that fills all past and future eternity would or 
could make mistakes, and be grieving and repenting, is 
too silly to be considered by the Hottentots in the 
jungles of Africa. 

Mistakes are made for the want of Intelligence. 
Who ever heard of an inexhaustible Intelligence that 
fills all eternity getting tired, and this mythical want 
of rest was a scheme of sham and deceit to foist a 
7 



98 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Sunday on the human race for the benefit of the 
Levites and priest and preachercraft to filch tithes and 
money from the ignorant people, backed by Sunday 
laws preventing them from working and attending to 
their own business as they might have neediness and 
desire to do, and, by social and political ostracism, 
force them under the sway and pay to the preachers 
and priestcraft, against their will and better judgment ; 
and if any man or woman expresses their doubts in 
regard to the Hebrevv^ and Christian mythology, or the 
mythological tenets and dogmas taught in all the 
churches in all parts of the earth, they are pounced 
upon by the clergy, priests and preachers in defense 
of their dogmatic mythology. Not that they commit 
any crime, harm, injury or damage to the human race, 
for v/hat they do is a great benefit to all minkind ; but 
it is because their opinions so expressed causes the 
people to think for themselves, and steer clear of such 
barnacles, and prevents them from filching money, a< 
living and support during life, from the ignorant and 
unsuspecting, misguided people. There never was a 
human being that v/alked on unfrozen water; there 
never was a human being in a whale's stomach three 
days and then returned alive. The whale's stomach 
would have completely digested and disposed of him 
within the time. There never was a human being 
who went up to heaven, as there is no such place up 
there. Up means straight away from the center of the 
e^rtli in all directions. There never was a human be- 
ing, dead or alive, that left this earth, nor never will 
be. The body is part of the earth, and Intelligence, 
life, and caloric being eternal, remains in eternity the 
same as the earth. 



FABULOUS LIES IN THE BIBLE. 99 

The words — Deity, God, Lord, Almighty, Jehovah 
and such expressions as God sees, God saw, God looks, 
God smiles, God glorified, God helped, God moved, 
God walked, God talked, etc., are allegorical expres- 
sions allowable in language, not real, as God does not 
need to see, hear, feel, taste or smell, as God is every- 
where, in everything, in ethereal space or infinitude. 
God is Intelligence, and acts from an infinite source, 
and not from a finite source. The eternal origination 
originates all animal and vegetable formations on 
the earth — the impulse or moving cause being Intelli- 
gence. God never interfered in a battle, never healed 
the afflicted, never tempered the breeze to the shorn 
lamb, never made it warm on a cold day, never brought 
the dead back to life, never interfered with any political 
or other contest, never demanded any praise, homage, 
glorification, adoration or worship ; never pardoned an 
evil deed or a wrong act, never walked, never talked, 
never was seen, never will be seen, never asked thanks, 
never received thanks, never made a present, never 
made a gift to any human being, never made suffering 
greater or less, never went up to any heaven, never 
made any heaven, never made any hell, never inter- 
fered with natural law or its penalties nor any of the 
other eternal things, never heard prayers nor never 
granted a pardon. No defacement of matter or viola- 
tion of natural law can be restored or forgiven. A 
piece of stone broken from a cliff, or a hack made on 
a tree, can never be restored as it was. All the eternal 
things have unchangeable fixed rules, and when any 
change is made in or on any of the eternal things, it 
remains changed. It is erroneous to tell people that 
they can commit crimes and do evil deeds, and that 



100 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

through the power of the priest and preacher, or 
church, that they can get forgiveness. There is no 
forgiveness for crimes and wrong doings, and any as- 
sertions to the contrary are a swindle and cheat to get 
money out of crimes, thefts and murders — anything 
that brings money to church before or after death. 

The claim that there is such a place as Purgatory 
is one of the meanest, low-lived, detestable inventions 
of priestcraft for the purpose of robbing both the 
rich and the poor, by v\^orking on their unrestrained 
sympathy for their dead friends and relatives, causing 
them to give up their money to the priest and church 
for" doing something that they never did nor can do ; 
selling their influence with God, that has less value 
than a last year's bird's nest. 

The rod of Moses turned to a serpent; the waters 
of the sea and the rivers divided ; the Lord cast down 
great stones from heaven; the ground clave asunder 
and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them 
up ; the sun stood still for about one whole day. The 
scriptures, from Genesis to Revelations, are full of 
such mythological, fabulous lies and falsehoods, that 
no sane human being could, or would, ever believe, 
which were easy to get into bible history by the Le- 
vites and priestcraft, there being not more than one 
in 50,000 of "the people that could read or write, and 
those who could read never got to see or read the 
history, the same being locked up and safely in the 
possession of priestcraft, to be added to or taken from 
as to them seemed most to their advantage ; to filch 
money and the fat of the land from the ignorant peo- 
ple. Of course, these events, so falsely stated, never 
took place, but these lies were worked into bible his- 



FABULOUS LIES IN THE BIBLE. 101 

tory by priestcraft, probably a thousand years later, to 
make the ignorant people fear God and priestcraft, so 
they would do their bidding to accomplish their de- 
sires by such great, fabulous lies from 1,000 to 5,000 
years old — the older the better, as age lends enchant- 
ment, and is the oil that greases the wheels of the 
mythological wagon. For thousands of years priest- 
craft did not allow the people to have, read or con- 
strue the Hebrew and Christian Bible for themselves, 
and people that expressed their opinions were impris- 
oned and tortured by priest and preachercraft, the 
record of which will forever remain a stench in the 
nostrils of the intelligent of mankind. Hundreds of 
thousands of good men were slaughtered in the battles 
of the Reformation to overcome the villainy and dic- 
tum of priestcraft. The feminine gender of the human 
race are persuasive beings, and the amplitude of the 
"well-fed priestcraft provides them with animal mag- 
netism by which they can bring undue influence over 
their female members of tender age, resulting in nun- 
neries, which are a disgrace to civilization, and should 
be prohibited by law. 

No human being, with or without their consent, 
should be deprived of their liberty without due process 
of law and sentence by the court. All Christian 
priests and preachers and man-God worshipers of the 
Hebrew and Christian Bible learn by heart and keep 
pasted in their hats. (1 Cor. 7:35, 36; 2 Cor. 12:21. 
Human beings are not consulted as to how and when 
they commence their existence on the earth, and they 
are not told when they will cease to exist. They have 
as much right, and as great a claim to a past existence, 
as they have to a future existence, there being no 



102 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

beginning or ending in the past, or in the future — all 
are blended in one eternity, and all eternal things 
entering into their construction, always existed. Finite 
beings can only claim a limited existence anywhere, 
and by death and disintegration they, as a whole, cease 
to exist in any part of the future ; but intelligence, life, 
caloric and matter being eternal things, still exist sepa- 
rately in eternity, which has no limit in the past or in 
the future. 

Caloric, when acted upon by intelligence, can unform 
and reform anything composed of intelligence, life, ca- 
loric, and matter (wdien the action is in harmony with 
natural law and all the other eternal things), which 
includes vegetable, animal and insect formations. All 
formations composed of the eternal things must in- 
clude intelligence, caloric and matter. Except there is 
intelligence, heat and matter, there can be no forma- 
tion whatever. There can be no formation of a human . 
body, except a material body, either on this earth or in 
any mythological heaven. There is but one way that 
a human being can get in existence, and that is by 
the expansion and contraction of the infant's breast, 
giving the first breath, perfecting life in a human be- 
ing. There is no way by which a human being can be 
born a second time. Intelligence (God), and all the 
eternal things (the attributes of intelligence), cannot 
act when separated from matter. The material must 
exist or no formation can take place. All the eternal 
things cannot act when separated from matter. Matter 
is the base and foundation of all the eternal things 
throughout infinitude. If matter could, or should, cease 
to exist, all the other eternal things would become in- 
active and cease to exist also. Intelligence, the highest, 
the greatest, the supreme essence, the Emmanuel, the 



FABULOUS LIES IN THE BIBLE. 103 

Deity, the God, that controls and rules over endless 
eternity, comes forth with great pomp and show and 
meets old scar-faced matter, with chaos scattered all* 
over infinitude, who looks up at Great Intelligence, 
grins, and says, What would you be, dear, if I were not 
here? What exists in eternity after the death of a hu- 
man being, is Intelligence, life, caloric and matter, each 
having a separate existence in infinitude, the same as 
before they entered the human body, and all personal 
identity disappears, both of mind and body, and all that 
pomp and show of fine coffins, great monuments and 
sepulchres are, for the want of Intelligence, connected 
with unrestrained sympathy, a pure waste of accumu- 
lated wealth, bringing want and poverty to many good 
people. The best way to dispose of a corpse is to roll it 
in a sheet to obscure nudity, and lay it in the clean 
earth three or four feet below the surface of the 
ground, so as not to interfere with cultivation, which 
should be done without any remorse of conscience. All 
human beings are as much in the great past one hour 
after death as if they had died a million years before, 
and there is no valid reason why we should be any 
more interested in them than in human fossil skeletons 
found imbedded in the solid stone. It is only the trend 
of our education and unnecessary sympathy. 

When the corpse has been properly disposed of, the 
duty of the living has passed, and we should turn 
away with every look and duty fixed on the future, to 
help the weary, making lighter life's burdens. When 
we see millions of acres of land being covered with 
graveyards, much to the injury of the living, as the 
same grounds would make happy homes for thousands 



104 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of people for thousands of years to come, and the 
benefit to the dead is only a myth, and the tombstones 
of the poor people that put them there are soon pulled 
up and sold again within a few years, much to the 
injury of the living, and are of no earthly use to the 
dead. 

When we by examining into the Science of Geology, 
the open book of God, we find birds, lung-breathing 
animals, and including the human race as well, show- 
ing up by their tracks in solid stone over 75,000 years in 
the great past, and by a reasonable estimate that the 
number of people that have lived and died on this 
earth, that their bodies would cover the whole earth 
over four feet in depth, and in the early history of 
the human race there was no burial of the human 
corpse, and so far back that the ocean water was 
twelve feet less in depth than now, and it is a well- 
known fact that the elements, the materials of which 
the human being and other animal bodies are com- 
posed, are highly beneficial to the soil, and that more 
is to be gained by dissolution on as near the surface 
than deeper down in the earth. When buried deep 
the dissolving elements are carried still deeper and 
has the effect to contaminate the water, and thereby 
the health of the people. It is therefore a sure pre- 
sentation of facts, that the decaying dissolution of 
the human body is of more benefit to the soil and the 
people near the surface than deeper. Please take no- 
tice, four billion corpses buried in the earth every hun- 
dred years with great expense to the living and of no 
use to the dead. 



CHAPTER 11. 

ABATE FILTHY NUISANCES AND CONTROL 
ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS. 

Every child should be taught to use their right and 
left eyes, arms, hands, legs and feet alike and with 
equal skill, but ambidextrousness should not apply to 
reading or writing, which should be uniformly from 
left to right. 

The habitual, unsightly and filthy use of tobacco 
should be so regulated by law that its use would be 
extirpated and exterminated. First : No person should 
be allowed to raise or produce it for their own use, or 
to give it away, or allow it to be filched or stolen, if in 
their power to prevent. The seller, the buyer, the man- 
ufacturer, and the wholesale and retail dealers should 
all pay a high license, and there should also be a high 
import duty collected, which should all go to the school 
fund for the benefit of the whole people, and no school 
teacher should ever be employed who uses tobacco, and 
the school children or students should be lectured at 
least four times during the school term against its 
use, and other filthy habits that they might thought- 
lessly acquire, which would during life be a filthy nuis- 
ance and an unnecessary waste of wealth and labor. 
Then, after the tobacco business had been so depleted 
by such a law, then give notice that on and after a 
fixed date, that no tobacco should be grown, sold, used 
or imported within the boundaries of the United States 
of America or its possessions. Its cultivation absorbs 

105 



106 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

the nitre and other valuable qualities from the soil^ 
which would be of great use in the production of food 
and other cereal and fibre crops which are highly 
necessary to the support and well-being of the human 
race, and all the human race are deeply interested in 
keeping the soil in a productive condition. Anything 
that depletes the soil is injurious to the State and Na- 
tion. 

The use of tobacco in any form does not support 
human life, and the great ainount of labor in its plant- 
ing and cultivation is entirely lost, which, if applied 
in many ways, would be a great benefit to the whole 
human race. The money uselessly spent and literally 
thrown away (to say nothing about the labor thrown 
away in its cultivation) would keep the whole people 
of the United States supplied with footwear. 

Alcoholic liquors, wines and other palatable drinks 
should be sold every place where wanted by well-regu- 
lated, high license, without preference, between com- 
munities, and the boards of health should see to it 
that no adulterated goods are allowed to be sold, and 
if sold, then heavy fines and penalties. All license 
money so received should go to the school fund of the 
county, and not to the special locality where the busi- 
ness is done. Alcohol is the greatest medicinal remedy 
known. Its use, as well as that of other liquors, is all 
right when properly used, and the people should see 
that they are rightly used. If persons get drunk, arrest 
and fine them so much that they will recollect it, and 
the law should be that if a man has been arrested for 
drunkenness and fined three times, then he should be 
barred from voting, holding any office of trust or re- 
ceiving marriage licenses If same have no money to 



CONTROL ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS. 107 

pay his fines, make him work it out, and if same still 
gets drunk, reform him in state's prison for five years. 

Alcoholic and fermented liquors have been used as 
far back as history goes, and always will be used. 
They that make brutes of themselves should be treated 
like brutes. If men are so weak-minded that they can- 
not control their appetites, get drunk, go home and 
abuse their families, the world does not need such 
breeders. Drunkards beget drunkards, or are trained 
into drunkards by drunkards. Better stop and restrain 
that process of breeding by reformatory imprisonment 
and a legal cause for divorcements, and in that way 
raise the standard of citizenship by purifying the hu- 
man race, and forever remove much drunken conjugal 
rows and strife, with their baneful effects on children. 

No person should be allowed to give away (or treat) 
any other person with liquor; if so, then a fine of ten 
dollars and costs, and vendors of liquors should not be 
allowed to sell liquor to any person under eighteen 
years old, except they have an order from their 
parents ; if so, the same fine and cost. The manufac- 
ture of alcohol or alcoholic liquors should be untaxed 
and free from internal revenue in any part of the 
United States, the same as any other manufactured ar- 
ticle of commerce, and a printed guarantee of purity 
should accompany each sale of one quart or over one 
quart. 

I think the above is far better than a demijohn under 
the bed in every home, for the boys and girls to tipple, 
and all get to be drunkards. By the use of tobacco, 
and the excessive use of alcoholic liquors, the results 
are ignorance, therefore all the revenue from the li- 
censing of such traffic should go to the schools to in- 



108 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

crease intelligence. All Sunday laws should be struck 
from all the laws of the earth, but no person should be 
allowed to interfere or disturb moral and orderly as- 
semblies on Sunday or any other day. True religion 
and a high standard of virtue and morals should be en- 
forced by human laws, and not by mythical reward or 
punishment beyond the grave. Hoping that ultimately 
all the human race will be able to understand and 
realize that there is no man God roaming over the 
earth, or in the eternal unlimited heavens. There is 
but one God (Intelligence), and that God does not re- 
quire any church worship, or any help of the weak- 
minded priests or preachers. 

All such propositions as the helping God or in any 
way assisting God is lunacy. God is Intelligence, sim- 
ply pure and supreme, wherein there can be nothing 
added to or taken from. The finite Intelligence we 
receive in schools and institutions of learning, when 
death and dissolution comes to us, still exist. Why? 
Because Intelligence is the greatest of all the Eternal 
things of which none can be lost or destroyed. It 
would be just as impossible to exhaust the Intelli- 
gence God as it would be for one human being in a 
lifetime to measure all the water on this earth with 
a pint cup. God is simply Intelligence, the impulse 
that controls and governs, and is infinite in all at- 
tributes and is always ready and does dispense and 
help all who seek Intelligence, all who seeks God, and 
in death there is none of that Intelligence that have 
been acquired as finite Intelligence ever lost or de- 
stroyed, but still exist in Intelligence God, as no part 
of 'any of the Eternal things are ever lost or destroyed. 



CHAPTER 12. 

NOAH'S FLOOD. 

Of all the lies that has ever been told or written, 
none exceeds that great slanderous and fabulous lie of 
Noah's Flood. Mount Ararat is about as high above 
the sea level as Mount Orizaba or Mount St. Elias, in 
North America. The water was on the face of the 
whole earth (Gen. 8: 9); that is to say, it covered 
Ararat and all the mountains of the earth, bob and 
sinker, from the lowest plain to over the top of the 
Himalayas of over 29,000 feet above the level of the sea, 
increasing the diameter of the earth about twelve 
miles, with the greater portion of the land about 20,000 
feet below the top of Noah's Flood. The rain was re- 
strained and the waters returned from off of the earth. 
(Gen. 8:2, 3.) 

Now we all know that water seeks its own 
level ; then where could the water have went to ? 
Once the water was on the earth it would stay on 
earth. The sun rays will not evaporate water when 
the land cannot be struck by them. AVhen I said 
further back in this book that half the water was 
in the firmament at the time the Great Canyons 
were being cut, the good church bigot said it was 
ludicrous. Now he would have the people believe 
that at the time of Noah's Flood that there was 
50,000 times more water in the firmament than I 
had stated. If such a body of water, from 15,000 
to 20,000 feet in depth above the greater part of 

109 



110 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

the land and covering all at some depth, should 
encompass the earth, it would become a glittering 
spheroid revolving in its orbit around the sun with- 
out a spear of vegetation or a single inhabitant. 
There never was such a body of water in the at- 
mosphere of the earth, and never will be, and no 
such event could or ever did take place. The great 
lie of Noah's flood is entirely too big a lie to look 
decent. It looks like at the time all the liars were 
in a great contest, and the man that wrote the lie 
of Noah's flood was the greatest liar of all, and won 
the prize. 

Still it is not strange, as by a thorough examina- 
tion of the old filthy Hebrew and Christian Bible it 
shows that the larger overdrawn and extravagant 
the writers in that age made their lies the better 
they suited the then uneducated and ignorant peo- 
ple. 

The fall of water in order to cover the face of 
the whole earth in forty days, would have had to 
exceed 700 feet in depth per day from start to 
finish. Counting cubits at twenty inches, the size 
of Noah's Ark was about 500 feet long, eighty-four 
feet wide and fifty feet high (three stories), not 
half the size of the passenger ships that are making 
trips in less than six days from New York to Liver- 
pool. If the animals, fowls, and creeping things 
had been packed as close as sardines, the Ark would 
not have had room for a third of them, to say noth- 
ing about room for storage of food supplies and 
comforts for old Noah's family for 150 days. Up 
to the time the Ark rubbed its bottom and rested on 
the very top of Mount Ararat (Gen. 8: 3, 4) 



noah's flood. Ill 

the water at the time, it is reasonable to estimate, 
was about fifteen feet deep on the very top of Ararat, 
as fifteen feet would be about what the Ark would 
sink in the water under the pressure. It was about 
seventy days from the time the Ark rubbed its 
bottom and settled on the top of Ararat until the 
tops of the mountains were seen, as there had to 
be a shrinkage of fifteen to twenty feet of water over 
the entire earth. It was slow, if it ever was shrank 
at all, or was ever there at all (and sure it never 
was there at all). Gen. 8: 4-5. 

Ifwould be impossible with a Hebrew and Chris- 
tian God, or any other God, to do what Noah claims 
was done, as it would take more than a hundred 
times the amount of water that is on the earth, or 
in firmament above the earth to have made good 
Noah's lying assertions. It also would belittle the 
Hebrew and Christian God's intelligence by mis- 
takes made in creative capacity, by wiping away all 
of that God's fore-knowledge, and reduced to a finite 
God, for no infinite God can make mistakes. 

How any intelligent people can be made to be- 
lieve in a man God of mistakes and blunders. That 
would not keep his word, but violates his oaths and 
promises. That disguises himself in human clothes 
and makes his mythical covenant with many old 
ignorant blatherskites, and by beguiling influences 
blessing virgins. These old he Gods seems to have 
had more capacity than a range bull. 

Noah must have had great skill in navigation to 
be tossed around day and night when no sun, moon, 
or stars were ever seen for forty days, and yet when 
no trace of Ararat could be seen, then to land his 



112 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

old craft on top of Ararat and rest it there over 
seventy days before the mountain top he .was on, or 
other mountain tops could be seen. It seems he 
sent out the crafty old raven, and he likely found 
enough floating mice and toads to more than ap- 
pease his hunger, and he likely roosted on top of 
the Ark every night and left early in the morning, 
and old Noah didn't see him at all, if there was any 
raven or old Noah at all, or any flood at all, and 
sure there was none of it at all (all lies and wind 
was all). While the cold wind was slashing the 
water around the top of Ararat and old Noah's 
headquarters, he was sending the dove to find the 
state of the water. The dove saw no land the first 
trip. The dove saw signs of land the second trip. 
The third trip found land, and did not return to old 
Noah at all, if there was any dove at all, or old Noah 
at all, and sure there was none at all. The top of 
Mount Ararat is 17,323 feet above sea level, and how- 
old Noah with all the animals, fowls, and creeping 
things, got down off of that bleak, desolate, cold 
region to the lower and productive country, where 
vegetable and animal life could be sustained, is one 
of the mysteries that only another liar like the one 
that wrote the whole of Genesis could explain, as 
3,000 feet of the top of Mount Ararat is covered with 
ice and snow, with the cold about sixty degrees below 
zero. And without doubt was fully as cold before 
old Noah was born and got in great favor with the 
Hebrew and Christian mythical God, and became an 
earthly agent in helping that God out of some bad 
blunders and mistakes in creative capacity, which had 
caused that God's imperial highness to swell up with 



lis 

great wrath, and old Noah had an eye to business as 
he got this Hebrew and Christian Almighty God to 
promise that him and his seed should possess and in- 
habit the whole earth. But what did that God's prom- 
ise amount to; just no more than a rotten tgg in a 
flood-tide, when this same God would not keep a 
promise and violated solemn oaths. The Great In- 
telligence God never has, nor never will promise any 
human being anything. Everything they are ex- 
pected to need is right here on this earth for them 
to help themselves. 

At this age of enlightenment and scientific attain- 
ments, all and every one (not a natural born fool), 
does know that as soon as the mountain peak of 
Ararat would have been laid bare with the top a few 
hundred feet above the water, and 17,323 feet above 
the present sea level, that the cold wind many de- 
grees below zero, would have just whistled through 
old Noah's whiskers, and frozen stiff the life out of all 
the animals, fowls and creeping things around or 
about the Ark, not one would have escaped. It will be 
noticed that the old villainous, jealous, wrathful and 
lying God of mistakes was not smiling around old 
Noah's door jamb when the Ark was on the top of 
Ararat, but it was after old Noah got down that he 
was establishing his covenant with him, and giving 
old Noah his song and dance about his rainbow sign 
(Gen. 9: 13.) that every boy can make with a paddle 
in a frogpond when the sun is shining; and the same 
principle existed a million years before that old lying 
blatherskiting God was around practicing his leger- 
demain. When we realize that after over 1200 years 
of Christian enlightenment that the people turned 



114 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

their children into the Christian maw of ignorance, 
bigotry and superstition in the crusades to perish 
from sickness and hunger, and what escaped death 
were sold into slavery to the Turks, History says 
nine hundred thousand were offered as a sacrifice to 
ignorance, based on the fabulous lies in the Bible. 
Still we have educated people all over this country 
that are so completely under the magic wand of priest 
and preachercraft that they will stand up and say 
''we believe every word of the Hebrew and Christian 
Bible, no odds how unreasonable it might be, on the 
ground that it was done by the force and will of 
God; and that God can do anything, that nothing is 
impossible with their mythical God," which is a bare- 
faced and unmitigated lie. Any man but a natural 
born fool would know it without being told or shown. 
There is no such thing as Lord, Deity or God other, 
than Intelligence, and it matters not how much intelli- 
gence there might be, God cannot do anything only in 
harmony with natural law, and all the other eternal 
things. Intelligence cannot create any thing, that is, 
farm something out of nothing; could not do an im- 
possibility ; could not make space, duration, matter, or 
any of the eternal things, or a twenty-year-old man in 
one day. Every thing that is done or made, are 
formed by fixed rules that cannot be changed. Thus 
you may do things, and thus you shall not do things, 
and the same rule applies to Intelligence (God) as 
well as man. There are many eternal things, and 
every one has its own sphere of action which can not 
be interfered with, but all action must be in harmony 
with all the other eternal things. None of the eternal 
things can be destroyed, or their use and power con- 



noah's flood. 115 

cealed, they being from eternity to full extent of in- 
finitude and all action in them, and on them, must be 
in accord with the sphere of their action, force and 
power. 

What would be the result if the caloric (heat) of 
the sun should cease? If the revolving of the earth 
on its axis and its orbital motion around the sun 
should cease? If the gravitation attraction of the 
earth and all other planets should cease? It is easy 
to understand that none of the eternal things can 
be spared, all must remain in full force and power. 

Of all the Eternal things there is only one that has 
any body substance, and that one is matter. We know 
that all the other Eternal things exist, but we can not 
see them, but we can see the effects of them, and we 
can fully, realize and know that they do exist, and to 
a great extent their action, force and power they exert. 
Intelligence God is one of the Eternal things, and 
therefore could not have created the other Eternal 
things, for all of the Eternal things have a co-existence 
with Intelligence God. The Eternal things embrace 
the whole of Great Infinitude and all things therein or 
in any manner connected therewith, and Intelligence 
being the supreme impulsive force, but all action of 
Intelligence must be in harmony v/ith all the other 
Eternal things, and is governed by fixed rules. Intel- 
ligence can not make or cause to be made a twenty- 
year-old man in one day, for the reason that would 
not harmonize with natural law, there must be taken 
the last second of the twenty years to make the man 
twenty years old. 



CHAPTER 13. 

THE COMPONENT PARTS OE A HUMAN 
BEING. 

The matter in the structure of a human being is eight 
hundred parts, out of one thousand parts pure water, 
and the two hundred parts left is very nearly all bone 
(limestone), small amount of iron, some carbon and 
other gases. There is about four billion people that come 
on the earth and die in every one hundred years, and 
the bones will average about twenty-five pounds each, 
equaling in weight one billion pounds of bones in a hun- 
dred years, and when we consider all the short-lifed and 
long-lifed animals, fowls, birds, and the fishes in the 
water, it gives a grand total of bone or bone-lime, that 
is extracted from the earth in one hundred years, as 
about six billion pounds, which is reabsorbed by the 
earth into the limestones of the earth, and is again re- 
absorbed into the animal kingdom; with never any part 
of the lime lost or destroyed, as earth matter is an 
eternal thing, and no part of the eternal things can ever 
be lost or destroyed. The same in all past eternity, now 
and forever. The same principle or law of all the eternal 
things are on the same eternal plan; no part can, or 
ever wall be lost or destroyed. The same in the past 
eternity, now, and in all future eternity, forever and 
forever. 

If any of the eternal things should be lost or de- 
stroyed, such would bring chaos and confusion in 

116 • 



COMPONENT PARTS OF A HUMAN BEING. 117 

the whole great plan of the heavens embraced in the 
eternal unlimited ethereal space and infinitude. In- 
telligence, when acting, on any or all of the eternal 
things, such action must be in accordance with their 
existence, sphere of action, force and power, as all the 
other eternal things have a coexistence with Intelli- 
gence (God) throughout the eternal ethereal space 
and infinitude, and it is by, with and through their 
action, force and power that Intelligence God, acts 
or can act, and not otherwise, as none of the power, 
force or action of any of the eternal things can be 
swayed or canceled. Harmony must prevail. There- 
fore we must fully realize that in order to get an un- 
derstanding of the power, force and sphere of Intelli- 
gence God, we must first study the power, force and 
sphere of action of all the other eternal things in or- 
der to comprehend God's sphere of action. 

If you want to learn about the Infinite or the action, 
power, force and attributes of the Great Infinite Intel- 
ligence God, do not consult Bible scholars, as what 
they really know about the Infinite or the Eternal 
Things is not worthy of consideration. The men that 
wrote and compiled the Hebrew and Christian Bible 
were not learned scientific men, but sordid myth writ- 
ers and polished liars, wherein the Facts, the Truths, 
and the Reasons are not there to be weighed in the 
balance. Ask a priest, preacher or parson about the 
Eternal Things and his answer will be : 'T never heard 
of the Eternal Things" nor I do not want to hear of 
any things not found in the Bible. Talk to learned 
men. 



CHAPTER 14. 

THE SHORTCOMINGS, INDECENT, INCON- 
SISTENCY AND IRRECONCILABILITY 
OF ALL CHURCH WORSHIP ON 
THE EARTH. 

The mythical, invoking, incantations and hallucin- 
ations of Christianity, Judaism, and all the other 
churches of the world are so foolish, absurd, irrational 
and indecent that they are thousands of years behind 
this age of an educated and intelligent people. It is 
more enlightened to worship the rising sun, the fire, 
or the Chinese chalk God, than to see and hear many 
things that are practiced in and by the churches- 
such as the baptising in the filthy creeks, stirring up 
the goose manure and polluted slime, and the 
mourners bench with the preachers fumbling the 
girls, is a disgrace to human Intelligence, and the ob- 
scure and secret confessional of priestcraft, is an 
abomination before God and the human race. All 
human beings are equal before God alike — no prefer- 
ence is shown, and when any man or set of men set 
up their monte bank of mythical dead beat to sell their 
influence with God, and in that way procure a pardon 
for mythical sins committed, just count all such hypo- 
crites, barnacles and mythical dead beats, procuring 
money for what they never did, never will, and never 
can do. All glorification, adoration, beseeching and 
asking pardon for sins committed, are all just lost 
wind. 

118 



IRRECONCILABILITY OF CHURCH WORSHIP. 119 

As there is no such thing as sin. Sin is an in- 
vention of priest and preachercraft (an evil act by 
a human being, punishable after death in an imaginary 
hell), there being no such place, nor reward or punish- 
ment after death ; but it is now, and ever has been a 
scheme to get money from the ignorant people. The 
Emanuel, the God, is in every human being, there- 
fore, communicate with yourself, do right, and set 
to rights your guilty conscience and be better men and 
women by absorbing more God within you, to guide 
you in the path of rectitude. The more Intelligence 
(God) you have within you, the less liable you are to 
vice, commit crimes and do evil deeds. 

This world is well loaded up with ancient galore 
and toadyism setting forth about something that was 
done or happened in some great mythical fabulous 
"lies, that never was done, nor never could have taken 
place, all of which are commemorated as sacred events, 
such as Sunday, Passover, Lord's Supper, Baptism, 
and many other fabulous things that the meek, lowly 
and ignorant people accept as facts, all of which has 
been worked into the Hebrew and Christian bible 
history by designing priest and preachercraft for the 
purpose of filching money and the good things of the 
earth for their luxurious support without exposure or 
labor. O, when will the ignorant people become wise, 
and take these hypocrites and dead beats by surprise, 
when they can no longer sell their aged enchantments 
and fabulous lies, and by all intelligent people be des- 
pised. That is to say, when these great extortious 
and fabulous representations are made by the priests 
and preachers to the people, they should be measured 
and weighed in the balance of human reason, and de- 



120 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

duct therefrom all facts, truths and reasons in them, 
and if found void of facts, truths and reasons, cast 
them aside as worthless trash. Anything that will not 
stand criticism is worthless. 

What would a bull of the Pope, or sermons by the 
priest or preachers amount to if each should be fol- 
lowed by a first-class critic? The result would be a 
battle, long, hard and furious, but victory would be 
won by the battleships of facts, truths and reasons, 
and that great nuisance of human worship of God 
would disappear from the entire human race. 

Why should we go away back for thousands of 
years when the masses of the people were a mass of 
ignorance, and get their old mythical, fabulous, moth- 
eaten, rotten religions, when we now have more in- 
telligence in one day than they ever had in a thou- 
sand years. There are now a million men in the 
United States that have more intelligence, and a thou- 
sand times more morality, honor and justice in them 
than Solomon ever had, and throw in all the prophets 
besides. 

.The intelligence in the people of this age acting 
on origination can bring into existence a religion a 
thousand fold more supeperior than has come to us 
from all past effort in that line. All the religions of 
the world up to the present time, are as full of faults 
and shortcomings as a sieve is full of holes. 

We now have hundreds of different kinds of 
churches that are based on the Hebrew and Christian 
Bible, because it was so poorly, meanly and unintelli- 
gently constructed when written, that no agreement 
can be had between the most intelligent people as 
to its meaning. When we see the great many church 



IRRECONCILABILITY OF CHURCH WORSHIP. 121 

buildings, each representing separate religious creeds, 
all based on the different constructions and meaning 
of the so-called Hebrew and Christian Bible, which 
show that it was improperly and ignorantly con- 
structed when written, that the Hebrew and Chris- 
tian Bible was not designed and composed by the great 
Intelligence (God) but by men better known as ig- 
noble, bigoted ignoramuses ; and the so-called proph- 
ets of the Lord in filthy garb doing up the towns 
of mud huts, leaning on poles called staffs, haranguing 
the people, and if they were roaming around now, 
the police would tell them to move on, and failing to 
do so, they would find themselves in the jail charged 
with disturbing the peace and dignity of the city, 
and the judge would send them to the state institu- 
tion for the weak minded. 

The people are carrying a great burden of ex- 
pense by the building and maintaining of the great 
number of church buildings, and the pay of the priests 
and preachers to unload their invocations, hallucina- 
tions and explaining a long list of mythical fables 
and fabulous lies found in the Hebrew and Christian 
Bible, in such a way that they will all be accepted 
as solid truths by the congregation, but have no effect 
on the seats, mostly empty. The great mass of the 
intelligent people of the world that have the push, 
energy and inventive skill that bring order out of 
chaos and strife, never give any attention to the eter- 
nal things or the supreme plan of eternity or infinitude. 
They leave all that to the priests and preachers to tell 
them about the great mythical heaven and hell, and 
how to get to that great mythical heaven by paying 
the priest or preacher, and supporting the church, but 



122 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

failing to do that, their mythical souls will at death 
pass into that great, eternal mythical hell, and the 
priest and preacher smiles as he sees them piling their 
hard-earned money into the contribution box, taking 
it for granted that what the priest or preacher told 
them is the true status of life, and the priest or 
preacher says to himself, as he pulls the door after 
him, ''I have fed my sheep and they turned in their 
fleece too." 

The priest says to himself: "I will soon get a red 
cap, and be high-cockalorum and boss of all the nun- 
neries — the game rooster of all Christendom." The 
preacher smiles, rubbing his hands together, as he 
sits up to his table of the most luxurious viands and 
says to his wife : *'We divines travel at half-fare, and 
the way the money is coming in we will be able, on 
my vacation, to take a trip to Europe, and I will send 
in some grand reports of the Holy Land. These re- 
ports will not bother me at all, as when we are in . 
London there are men who make a business of writ- 
ing great reports on the Holy Land for a few dollars, 
and we will send in big reports on the scenes in the 
Holy Land while we are taking in the great sights in 
London and Paris (see), and when we return we will 
have a grand time, as it will take half a dozen big- 
sermons (which I will bring with me, bought of ser- 
mon writers in London), and I will give them a grand 
eye-opener, and we will have' another grand time, and 
money will come in big rolls. My congregation will 
believe every word I say. They are believers, and will 
believe anything, as you know that it is by hrm belief 
and undoubting faith that they get to the great and 
glorious mythical heaven, besides it is written that 



IRRECONCILABILITY OF CHURCH WORSHIP. 123 

unbelief is the curse of the world, and you know that 
will make them all strong in faith and undoubting in 
belief." None are so blind as those that will not see, 
with the fear of an eternal hell of damnation deeply 
embedded in their memory. Surely the blind leadeth 
the blind, and main road leads from their money purse 
to the priests' and preachers' pockets. And why not 
when they are church dupes and slaves owned by 
church dogmas, not having courage enough to con- 
tend for or accept freedom. 

But looking back for over forty years I can see 
a better day dawning. The free schools are in our 
favor, and liberal thought has increased over fifty 
per cent within that time in this United States of 
America. With an infidel constitution which guaran- 
tees freedom to the whole people, and the empty seats 
and pews indicates human worship of God is dying 
slow but sure. A perfect God needs no worship nor 
can accept such. 

Admitting that there are many priests and preach- 
ers (that is, of the very common run) that, by delu- 
sion, are acting in good faith, and are firm in the be- 
lief that they are saving many of what they believe to 
be human souls from an eternal hell, but it is a sure 
deduction from all the facts under consideration, the 
money is the force that pulls the mythical wagon of 
all- the churches. 

All human beings on this earth have their existence 
by the direct impulse of Intelligence (God), and if 
there is a soul or spiritual body in every human being, 
it comes from the same source and what Intelligence 
(God) has done, Intelligence (God) is amply able 
to take care of all the works of the eternal, unlimited 



124 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Intelligence God throughout all infinitude. The force 
and power of the eternal Intelligence (God), with all 
the other eternal things as attributes, does not need 
the assistance of these weak-minded priests and 
preachers who, by their pretended celibacy, work 
their way into the sociality of marriageable and con- 
jugal relations of families, causing much illegitimacy 
and a great many divorces. There is nothing more 
dangerous to the chastity and welfare of the family 
than the amplitude of a well fish and chicken-fed 
priest or preacher. There is not a church on earth 
that can stand if the orations or sermons of their 
priests or preachers are allowed to be followed by a 
competent critic, showing the same to be unreason- 
able, untruthful and unworthy of belief or credence. 
There may be some of the partly civilized, un- 
learned and unintelligent people that yet have fears of 
an eternal hell of damnation, but all the educated, 
thinking and intelligent people no longer have any 
fear of any kind of hell, for the best of reasons the 
consensus of all the evidence on earth, or in the eter- 
nal, unlimited infinitude show that there is no such 
place, and the time is near when the boys and girls 
moaning and trembling with fear, will no longer be 
held with red hot tongs over a great lake of hellfire 
and brimstone in order to increase church member- 
ship and the money in the priests' or preachers' 
pockets. 



CHAPTER 15. 
LOST BOOKS IN THE SCRIPTURES 

Below I give one of the most complete lists of the 

"lost books" referred to in the Scriptures that have 

ever been published : 

Book of the Wars of the Lord. (Num. 21 : 14.) 
Book of Jasher. (Joshua 10: 13; also 2 Sam. 1 : 18.) 
Book of Iddo the Seer. (2 Chron. 9: 25; also 2 

Chron. 12: 15.) 

Book of Nathan the Prophet. (2 Chron. 9: 29.) 

Prophecies of Ahijah. (2 Chron. 9: 20.) 

Acts of Rehoboam in Book of Jeremiah. (2 Chron. 

12: 15.) 
Book of Jehu. (2 Chron. 20: 34.) 
Book of the Kings of Israel. (2 Chron. 20: 34.) 
Book of the Thousand and Five Songs of Solomon. 

(1 Kings 4: 32.) 

Book of the Covenant. (Ex. 24: 7.) 

Book of Remembrance. (Mai. 3: 14.) 

Book of Gad, the Seer. (1 Chron. 29 : 29.) 

Book of the Acts of Solomon. (1 Kings 11 : 41.) 

Book of the Lord. (Isaiah 34: 16.) 

Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. (1 Chron. 9 ; 

2 Chron. 16: 11, 28: 26, 35: 27, 36: 8.) 

Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Isiael. (1 

Kings 14: 19; 1 Kings 16: 5.) 

Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (1 

Kings 15: 7.) 

' The Chronicles of King David. (1 Chron. 27: 24.) 

125 



126 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Isaiah's ''Acts of Uzziah." (2 Chron. 26: 22.) 
Acts of Hezekiah in the Vision of Isaiah the Proph- 
et. (2 Chron. 32 : 32.) 

vSayings of the Seers. (2 Chron. 32 : 19.) 
Story of the Prophet Iddo. (2 Chron. ,8: 22.) 
Some commentators maintain that the fourteenth 
verse of the single chapter of Jude alludes to a "Book 
of Enoch;" also that the thirty-second verse of the 
fourth chapter of 1 Kings refers to works on natural 
history that were written by Solomon. 

Considering the wars, bloodshed, turmoil, trouble, 
strife and heartfelt sorrow that the old filthy Hebrew 
Scripture has brought to the human race, it makes 
me shudder to contemplate what would be the result 
if we should have been unfortunate enough to have 
been cursed with all the books. Job's troubles com- 
pared would be as a sand in the sea. We should feel 
thankful that we never got the, lost books, and we 
would be a thousand times more blessed if we Had 
never gotten any of the books of the old Hebrew 
Scriptures. Now as to Jesus Christ, his miraculous 
conception and birth was a deception, which no sane, 
intelligent person believes, and there is no proof 
worthy of belief or credence, just fabulous lying as- 
sertions, pure unadulterated bosh, and if the asser- 
tions were true, why did Matthew call him the son of 
Man, and it was the Devils who called him the son 
of God. Which was mistaken, Matthew or the Devils? 
All such talk about the Virgin Mary conceived by the 
Holy Ghost is ignorant filthy twaddle. 

There is nothing to show that Christ was educated 
or ever wrote any language, scribbled in the dust just 
once. What he knew about the scriptures he prob- 



LOST BOOKS IN THE SCRIPTURES. 127 

ably got from his father Joseph, or in the synagogue, 
or by converse, and his disciples were uneducated and 
of the very commonest class of men at that date, and 
it is a general consensus from all the information that 
the apostles never wrote the many books as stated ; 
they were likely written by scribes from hearsay of 
the fabulous reports then current in that part of the 
country. For many years the belief and faith in Christ 
was very limited, and these many books with many 
other books and.manuscripts were in the possession of 
the Christian priest for 325 years, and there was great 
discord among the priests or ministers as to what was 
the teachings of Jesus Christ, and Constantine called 
all the Christian priests or ministers to the great coun- 
cil of Nice, and when they had all assembled they 
numbered only about 2,300, while Lima, Peru, has 
8,000 priests for 140,000 people, so it is plain to be 
seen that the people of eastern Europe and adjacent 
territory in Asia and Africa had but little use for the 
fabulous and miraculous Christ, and when all the 
books and manuscripts were laid before the council 
there was tumultuous strife and bitter contentions as 
to what were really the teachings of Christ. 

There were two propositions before the council. 
One was, that all the books and manuscripts in any 
form should be preserved. The second proposition 
was that the spurious books of the apostles be retained 
as the teachings of Christ, and all the rest be de- 
stroyed. When the vote was taken there was about 
two-thirds of the council for preserving all, and about 
one-third to preserve only the manuscripts of the 
apostles and destroy the rest; at this juncture of the 



128 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

proceedings, Constantine lined up the minority dele- 
gates and cleared the house of the great majority, and 
himself and the minority delegates declared the sup- 
posed books of the apostles canonical, and had all the 
other manuscripts and books destroyed. These many 
manuscripts at the time of the council had been in pos- 
session of priestcraft for over 300 years, and the com- 
mon people knew nothing about them, only what the 
priests told them. They had been translated and in- 
terpreted and worked over, so as to make ea(!h book 
to a great extent harmonize so that when these spuri- 
ous manuscripts were before the Nicene council they 
received the approval of Constantine, which was really 
the council, as the majority were ruled out and had 
no say in the matter, and all of their manuscripts and 
books were destroyed, and that put a quietus on all 
contentions and disputes as to what was the tea.ch- 
ing or doctrines of Christ, and at this date it is not 
known what the teachings and doctrines of Christ, 
were, or are now. The old Hebrew Scriptures was 
translated and interpreted from the ancient Hebrew 
into the modern Hebrew, and from the modern Hebrew 
to the Greek and Latin, and no doubt thousands of 
mistakes were made by error, or most likely inten- 
tional by designing priestcraft as an object lesson. 

KING JAMES' TRANSLATION FAULTY. 

When King James' translation was made into the 
English language, there was, some say 12,000 and 
others say 24,000 mistakes were made and we know 
that we at this day can hardly have a deed recorded 
without mistakes. The consensus of all history show 
that all worship of all religions were based on great 



LOST BOOKS IN THE SCRIPTURES. 129 

fabulous myths, lies and leg-erdemain, and the larger 
and more erroneous the presentations, the better they 
took with the then uneducated and ignorant people, 
and the priests and preachers, beginning thousands 
of years in the past and clear on up until now have 
built up a great oligarchy made out of the past poor, 
filthy, unreasonable, unbelievable, ignorant trash and 
hobgoblins brought down to this enlightened age, 
from the ancient, ignorant and barbarian races, and 
then go around with a lantern at midday trying to 
find out why the dear people do not attend the 
churches, and rub their hands down over a well-fed 
stomach and say: "We are always ready to feed the 
sheep," but the sheep do not want such ancient musty 
feed; they have learned of better pasture. The peo- 
ple are now better educated and too intelligent to 
listen or entertain their howling, ignorant fanatical 
pretentions contrary to reason and intelligence. When 
a man goes on the platform to talk to the people, he 
must stick to facts, truths and reasons. People will 
not accept fabulous lies and falsehoods as facts. 
There was a time when the people could be made be- 
lieve such things because they were in the Hebrew 
and Christian Bible, but that does not count these 
days. The people want the facts and truths sup- 
ported and weighed in the balance of human reasons. 
Therefore it is all out of order to tell the people 
about Isaac being the only son of Abraham, when 
it is shown that while Abraham was off herding cat- 
tle that the Lord, in the form of a young man was 
blessing Sarah, and in proper time Isaac appeared, 
and there was much laughter before and after this 
wonderful event took place, (Gen. 17: 16-17), and 

9 



130 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Lot's two daughters and their many children that 
called good old Lot father and grandfather. -Oh, but 
that was an honorable, upright and holy performance, 
fully approved of by the Hebrew and Christian God, 
and old Abraham was well pleased that he got the 
needed help just in time. 

THE LAWS OF THE HEBREWS BORROWED. 

The most of the la^vs of the Hebrews that was 
heralded to the people as written by the great He- 
brew God's own hand and turned over to Moses were 
in existence in the Sanskrit, the first, greatest and 
most ancient language of mankind, as shown in the 
Shastra of the Hindoos of India, more than a thou- 
sand years before Moses was born, also were in the 
Assyrian and Accadian languages of Chaldea, dating 
many thousand years before Adam. Solomon's wise 
saying that ''there is nothing new under the sun," "no 
doubt was a common phrase in use many centuries 
before the sainted old David had Uriah murdered in 
order to get his wife, and before Amnon, son of David 
forced his sister Tamar, and Absalom went from the 
tent on top of his father's house without shame in 
unto his father's ten concubines and made fornication 
with each and all of them in the sight of all Israel, and 
that almighty Hebrew and Christian God, with both 
eyes shut, didn't see at all ! That much-lauded and 
greatly glorified Golden Rule : ''Do unto others as 
you would have them do unto you," that has been the 
beacon star to light up the pathway of the Christian 
for over nineteen hundred years, shows up in history 
seven hundred years before Jesus Christ was born in 
a stable and laid in the manger. Brahma, Vishnu and 



LOST BOOKS IN THE SCRIPTURES. 131 

Seva in the Hindoo Shastra is a prelude to Father, 
Son and Holy Ghost, which is not found in the Scrip- 
tures, but shows up in (Matt. 28: 19.), purely an in- 
vention of the writer of Matthew as there is nothing 
to show that Jesus Christ or his apostles ever wrote 
anything, and it is a sure deduction from all the evi- 
dence obtainable that they did not. Then that trinity 
business is all mythology, purely an invention of 
priestcraft, both having a similar meaning, and both 
being big, high-sounding words, and both first and 
last, pure mythological wind, intended to mislead the 
ignorant masses and credulous church dupes ; but at 
this age when all statements must be weighed in the 
balance of facts, truths and reasons church dupes are 
becoming less plentiful every year and will become 
more so in the future. Any proposition that is not 
based on the golden rule of facts, truths and reasons, 
and cannot stand truthful and reasonable examination 
and proper criticism must be rejected as worthless. 

CHRIST WAS FIRST CALLED THE SON OF GOD 
BY THE DEVILS. 

Jesus Christ was called the son of Man by 
Matthew, chapter 8: 20, the devils called Jesus Christ 
the son of God, chapter 8: 29, so the name "son of 
God" came from the devils directly from hell the 
grave, as defined by Webster's Dictionary, that hell 
is the grave. But the whole is a lie and a myth as the 
devils were not in the men, nor ever went into the 
swine.- The swine herders had stolen the hogs, sold 
them to passing water craft, and availed themselves of 
the opportunity of accounting for the missing swine 
by laying it all on the great and glorious Jesus Christ, 



132 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

followed by a gang of ignorant dupes, bummers, 
toughs and hoboes. The owner of the swine was sim- 
ply hoodwinked out of his hogs. The Catholic priests 
are educated and learned men, and they know that 
the Hebrew and Christian Bible will not stand the 
searchlight of reasons and criticism, and for that rea- 
son they keep the scriptures in Greek and Latin, so 
that the members of the church cannot read or form 
any opinion in regard to them, only what the priests 
tell them. That is to say, they call up their ignorant 
sheep and feed them plenty of rotten filthy twaddle 
about the Hebrew and Christian God and the glorious 
Jesus Christ who plainly said, 'Xet the dead bury the 
dead," Matthew 8: 22, showing that neither himself 
or the Church he would establish had any interest in 
the dead further than what the Church could get out 
of the friends and relatives, which at this age brings 
a large revenue for funeral orations, and the Christian 
Catholic Church gets large donations after death for- 
canceling or setting aside sins committed during life. 
It would be extremely hard to invent a more entic- 
ing trap for fools than this loathsome and detestable 
proposition ; a superlative double searchlight cheat 
and swindle perpetrated on their followers and not 
in accord w4th their own Hebrew and Christian Bible 
and contrary to human reason. What is human wor- 
ship? Answer: Pure, unadulterated deception, where 
much is expected and nothing received. What is the 
cause of human worship? Answer: A desire to live 
an eternal life after death. This desire is so strong 
by and from the force of education and training, that 
they prefer to go to any kind of hell rather than not 
exist at all after death ; but once their minds are 



LOST BOOKS IN THE SCRIPTURES. 133 

liberated from that baneful influence and fully realize 
that there is no existence after death, it would give them 
liberty of both mind and body, and the trend of their 
minds would be for good laws well enforced, purity of 
purpose with charitable chasted and loving kindness for 
all the human race, and not be impressed by a belief that 
they could commit all kinds of evil deeds and crimes, 
and receive pardon while living, and even by priestcraft 
after they are dead. Such bad morals taught to the 
young people leads them to believe that no matter what 
mean and detestable crime they may do, that God, 
through the influence of priests and preachers, will for- 
give them, and make their celestial garments as white 
as snow. 

Children should be taught by their parents and in 
school the true ways of life. That there is no such thing 
as sin. To do wrong is a crime, but if done thought- 
lessly without reason should ask pardon and forgive each 
other. God forgives no one, nor grants pardon for 
crime. God's ways are always right and just. Supreme 
Intelligence God never forgives a wrong, but ignorance 
is the superlative curse of human existence. 

Follow The Great Moral Way that leads all mankind 
toward Justice, Truth and Righteousness and an Earthly 
Heaven. Where wrong-doing is a crime and where 
right-doing is a blessing; where wrong-doing becomes 
extinct and where right-doing is glorified. All measured 
and weighed in the balance of Facts, Truths and Reasons, 



CHAPTER 16. 

FIXED RULES OF LIFE. 

Observe your full duty between yourself and your 
feilowman, same as between father and child, husband 
and wife. Have rectitude, governed by pure unsel- 
fish reasons. Be virtuous, kind, true and sincere in 
your ways toward all, having charity for all, but 
more so to the deserving ones. Have purity of pur- 
pose and honest desire in dispensing impartial justice 
to all. Use practical and just ways of life, and give 
all praise to this world, striving always to make it 
better. Practice industry, sobriety, gravity, decorum 
and truthfulness as a good citizen. Take nothing but 
that which is yours of right and justice. Expect 
nothing more of all others than you would be willing 
to grant yourself. Accept as a fact that you have no 
knowledge of why you have life and existence here 
on this earth, and cannot have any knowledge of life 
and existence after death. Fully recognize that your 
body can never leave the earth, for the reason that it 
is part of the earth, that intelligence, life, and caloric 
separates from the body, but that you do not know 
from whence they came or whither they go, recog- 
nizing as a fact, that they were absorbed from eter- 
nity, and after segregation called death, still exist in 
eternity separately, and independently, the same as 
before they entered into the structure of an intelli- 
gent, live, warm, human being, whose body was mat- 
ter. That your existence on this earth is transitory, 
134 



FIXED RULES OF LIFE. 135 

wherein you have no knowledge of your beginning or 
ending, and are only filling some small place in eter- 
nity, not now known or ever will be known, for the 
reason that the finite can not comprehend the infinite, 
nor see or understand or contemplate the force and 
power of the eternal things as the supreme plan of 
the eternal, unlimited ethereal space and infinitude. 

But in our finite capacity we can go to the utmost 
limit of the boundaries of our existence. We can 
study scientifically demonstrated facts, truths and rea- 
sons of all things in and on the earth. The mineral, 
vegetable and animal kingdoms, animate and inani- 
mate life from the smallest insect to the greatest mam- 
moth and whale, and from the smallest blade of grass' 
to the greatest forest trees, and their evolution and 
progress for the past 50,000 years. 

THE FIRST EXISTENCE OF THE PEOPLE. 

When the people first began their existence on the 
earth it was at the northern and southern extremes 
of the earth. The climate was first tropical and their 
needs were supplied by both vegetable and animal 
life, and there was no need for any more. There was 
at that time no Eastern or Western Hemispheres, and 
all the equatorial or the central portion of the earth 
was at that time torrid climate and all covered with 
water, but the climate where the people lived changed 
to a temperate climate; had winter and summer sea- 
sons, and when the sun would to them appear to recede 
and go away, and all vegetable and animal life would 
suffer, but when the sun returned it appeared to re- 
deem everything; vegetation came forth and all ani- 
mal life increased, and all nature was again lovely. 
So they began to look to the sun as their God, and 



138 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

began reverencing and worshiping the sun^ as when 
it came near heat came to them and repelled the cold 
and brought happiness. They soon realized that fire 
was also heat, and began worshiping fire by build- 
ing fire-altars out of wood, and when burning wor- 
shiped the fire as God, and made burnt offerings 
of animals and of human beings as well, and the He- 
brews improved and modernized the way and man- 
ner by getting firstlings of all the finest flesh animals 
and have them nicely roasted, of which none was al- 
lowed to be eaten except by the priests and flunkey 
attendants of the tabernacle. The reason for that 
was to not let the common people find out how sump- 
tuously they were living, all at the expense of the 
people, and for the further reason that priestcraft did 
not want the people to see or find out the workings 
of the tabernacle. Even was not allowed to see old, 
Moses' negro wife. 

The whole world is well supplied with priests, 
preachers, clergy, exhorters, church henchmen, swads, 
bumpkins and an immense number of goody-goody 
people that are always ready to proclaim and acclaim 
that every good thing that has come or ever will 
come for the benefit, comfort, ease and well-being of 
the human race all come from their mythical imagin- 
ary Hebrew and Christian Man God. After the great 
English Nation had been compelled to acknowledge 
the independence of the United States, and Washing- 
ton dead, then comes the big lie by a man that would 
not have been trusted by merchants for a peck of 
potatoes, that he had seen Washington praying in 
the woods, and that God had answered his prayers. 
"Now in these days came the man Jesus," but it could 



FIXED RULES OF LIFE. 137 

not stay that way and was altered by priestcraft to 
read "Now in these days came the man Jesus" if he 
could be called a man." (See Josephus.) The church, 
priests, prelates, dignitaries, bigots and henchmen 
have been for thousands of years polluting, changing 
and altering the Hebrew and Christian Bible and 
Bible history, and all other history, in all and every- 
thing on the earth to support their mythological He- 
brew and Christian Man God, and their erroneous 
religions and pretensions. 

Alexander the Great, Leonidas, Caesar, Napoleon, 
Voltaire, Lafayette, Wellington, Washington, Lin- 
coln, Jefferson, Jackson, Hamilton, Franklin, Paine, 
Jones, Grant and thousands of others of the greatest 
men that ever walked on this earth were free thinking 
and unbelievers in the Hebrew and Christian Mythical 
God. It is from the acts and great deeds of these 
men that we of this age are allowed to think, write, 
talk and reason together, and feel the great benefits 
of free thought, free speech, and free, untrammeled 
liberty, backed by a National Infidel Constitution, 
under which the nation has prospered as no other na- 
tion has since man's existence on the earth began, 
and that constitution will remain an Infidel Constitu- 
tion while the mountains stand and the rivers flow to 
the sea. This book is intended to be read, weighed 
in the balance and measured by God's greatest gift 
to mankind, Human Reason. The Great Moral Way. 

At this age when the eternal unlimited intelligence 
that fills all infinitude is being rapidly absorbed into 
the minds of our greatest and best developed man 
and women of brains and push, in inventions, arts and 
scientific attainments, until we can sit in our office and 



138 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

talk with people all over the state and nation, and 
send messages all over the world either on the sur- 
face or under the great oceans, or through fluid air 
to our ships at sea, and soon we may expect to be 
able to look across the ocean and see what is going 
on in London, Paris and other large cities in Europe, 
or sit in a chair in New York and see our friends get 
aboard the ship at San Francisco and hear them say 
goodby, or at the same place see the Methodist shouter 
open his mouth, blare his eyes and hear his hallelujah; 
but it is a sure deduction, look as you can, will or may, 
you will not be able to see any person or hear any 
person that has passed through death and the grave, 
for the reason that they do not now nor ever have 
returned alive or otherwise; such a thing never has 
been done, nor ever will be done. All such state- 
ments made in the Hebrew and Christian Bible that 
human beings did return to life again after death, even 
a mythical God, are untruthful and are the invention 
of priest and preachercraft in support of their myth- 
ical Hebrew and Christian Man God, to establish a 
false, detestable religious faith worship, to get much 
money and support from the ignorant people. For 
the past fifty years, spirits returning to this earth has 
had a great rage, and the laying on of hands, and so- 
called Christian Science have all proved to be a pure 
unadulterated humbug, supported by ignorance and 
superstition. There is no such thing as a spirit of a 
human being or any other animal on the earth 
nor ever was, nor ever will be. 

Every animal on this earth has in combination the 
four eternal things, intelligence, life, caloric and mat- 
ter, and they have as great a claim to a spirit in them 



FIXED RULES OF LIFE. 139 

while living or after death as any human being has, 
and if they are not possessed of a spiritual body while 
living or after death, then the human being has none 
also. All are alike, they both have their existence on 
the earth the same way, and they cease their existence 
on the earth by the same process, by death and dissolu- 
tion. The human race has no future reward greater 
than the beast, as one die so die the other, they all 
have one breath and all go to one place, their bodies 
are all part of the earth and all go back to the earth. 
(Eccles. 3 :18-22 ; also the 6 :12 ; also the 7 :14.) There 
is no existence after death. "The eye of him that hath 
seen me shall see me no more, thine eye is upon me 
and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and van- 
isheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave shall 
come up no more, he shall return no more to his house, 
neither shall his place know him any more. (Job. 
7:8, 9, 10.) So man lieth down and raiseth not till the 
heavens be no more ; they shall not wake, nor be raised 
out of their sleep. (Job. 14:12.) It will be noticed that 
Job knew nothing about immortality in the past or 
future. There is no just person on the earth. (Eccles. 
7:20.) Truth, for their Intelligence is finite and not 
perfection. All the Eternal things have a co-exist- 
ence with the Infinite Intelligence God, and are per- 
fection, and all action by, in or on them is an Infinite 
harmonious perfect action, and all human beings 
should be as near perfection as their existence Avill 
permit. 



CHAPTER 17. 

CHARACTER OF THE HEBREW AND CHRIS- 
TIAN GOD— THE GOD IDEA OF 
HUMAN ORIGIN. 

Personal gods always correspond to the character 
of their worshipers. The ancient Scandinavians lived 
by conquest and they worshiped two grim Gods of 
war and plunder — Thor and Odin. The Hindoos are 
non-combative and their Gods are tutelary and cor- 
respondingly harmless. The ancient Greeks were of a 
versatile character and worshiped Mars — God of War. 
They were given to revelry and mirth, and offered 
oblations to Bacchus — God of Revelry, and Comus — 
God of Mirth. They were fond of maritime pursuits 
and sacrificed to Neptune — God of the Sea. They 
were addicted to amatory pleasures and adored Venus 
— Goddess of Beauty, and Cupid — God of love. The 
primitive Hebrews were warlike and blood-thirsty, 
and their Jehovah God was correspondingly remorse- 
less, cruel and vindictive. John Knox, founder of 
Old School Presbyterianism, had large combativeness 
and destructiveness, with small benevolence, and be- 
lieved in a God of infinite malice and hate — the Draco 
of the universe, the author of sin and its unsparing 
avenger. Theodore Parker was the opposite of Knox, 
having small destructiveness and combativeness and 
large benevolence, and he advocated the existence of 
a God infinite in love and benevolence. Thus we find 
that the Gods of individuals as well as nations 

140 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN ORIGIN. 141 

always correspond in character to the people as in- 
dividuals doing them homage. This proves the gods 
to be of human origin. The things made always har- 
monize with the qualification of the maker, and per- 
sonal gods are no exception to this rule. (The Chris- 
tian's God borrowed.) The early Christians were 
blinded by credal dogmas, and the age not being pro- 
pitious for the manufacture of new gods, they adopted 
the God of Abraham, and in their blindness do hom- 
age at the shrine of this deific monster. Their adher- 
ence to the Hebrew brutal idea of a god' grows out 
of their reverence for and belief in the Hebrew and 
Christian Bible and the acceptance of its pernicious 
teachings during childhood and youth, before the mind 
had been sufficiently developed to discriminate be- 
tween right and wrong, or truth or error. The people 
now being educated and intelligent, will not recog- 
nize the Hebrew and Christian God longer, but will 
say "Step behind me, Satan, we have been humbugged 
enough." There is no points of greatness represented 
in the Hebrew and Christian God. All is schemes, 
deceit and big lies and overdrawn things that had hap- 
pened or were manufactured by designing priest and 
preachercraft, all of which was not at all understood 
by the ignorant, uneducated people. 

But now we do not need to try to investigate or 
solve any of the obsolete and mythical problems pre- 
sented to us in the old and new testaments; just dis- 
pose of them all in bulk by casting them all in the 
junk pile, and take a new start with our minds lib- 
erated to seek only facts, truths and reasons on every 
line of scientific investigation of all the eternal things 



142 PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS 

as they are now or may be applied to the use and bene- 
fit of the human race. 

This God created the earth and all things thereon 
with a full knowledge of its destiny and then terrifi- 
cally cursed it because it {ailed to meet this God's ex- 
pectations. (Gen. 3: 14.) Later when contemplat- 
ing the failure of this, God's mundane enterprise got 
full of wrath and indulged in the following lamenta- 
tion : "I will destroy all the people, but just enough for 
seed, whom I have created, both the people and beasts 
and creeping things, and the fowls of the air, for it 
repenteth me that I have made them. (Gen. 6: 5.) 
What an admission from a God who claimed to have 
had infinite wisdom to devise all plans, and infinite 
power to execute them. If this God was omniscient, 
knowing how wicked the human race would prove to 
be, it would have been far better to have repented there 
and then, and left the human race undisturbed be- 
neath the quiet shades of annihilation. Why call 
them into existence by creative fiat, and allow the 
devil to load them down with original sin and force 
them to play their grewsome part in the awful trage- 
dies enacted on the stage of human life? Repentance 
on the part of an actor for an action performed proves 
a mistake has been made, but just how omniscience 
and omnipotence could become eligible to mistakes 
is certainly one of the profound mysteries of godli- 
ness. Certainly a Hebrew and Christian God could 
make mistakes. The Intelligence (God) of the earth, 
heavens, eternal unlimited ethereal space and infini- 
tude never makes mistakes. No intelligent human 
being at this day and time can be made to believe that 
the Intelligence (God) would or can make mistakes. 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN ORIGIN. 143 

The God of the Hebrew and Christian Bible was no 
God at all — a myth, bolstered up by big lies. 

The whole of the old Hebrew Scriptures and New 
Testament are a mass of mistakes and contradictions, 
and the Hebrew and Christian worship of a man God 
is not supported by scientifically demonstrated proven 
Facts, Truths and Reasons. But the church bigot says 
that the construction of the earth and the great and 
beautiful things thereon, and the great and wonderful 
ethereal space, and the astonishing amazement at the 
things therein, and their harmonious action and con- 
trol, shows that there was a designer. But who de- 
signed the designer? Answer, mum. And where did 
the designer come from? (Mum.) 

SWEARS IN HIS WRATH AND IS JEALOUS. 

This God, so reverenced by the Christians, pos- 
sessed a distressingly bad temper, and when provoked 
would furiously "swear in God's wrath." (Ps. 95 : 11.) 
This God so dishonored the great omnipotence as to 
grow fiercely jealous of ''strange Gods" and "graven 
images" (Deut. 32: 16; Exod. 20: 5). 

ORDERS AND ACCEPTS HUMAN SACRIFICES. 
This Hebrew and Christian's God was likewise 
guilty of the horrible offense of ordering and accept- 
ing human sacrifice (Gen. 22 • 1 ; Judges 11: 30-39; 
2 Sam. 21: 6-9). Modern clergy paint with lurid 
colors the appalling chapter of human sacrifices on 
heathen altars ; but would do well to consider the 
human victims whose blood has stained with crimson 
the altars of their own favorite Hebrew and Christian 
God before further falsely traducing and maligning 
the gods of the heathen. 



144 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

RESULTS OF THESE EXAMPLES. 

"The Christian Community of the Universal Broth- 
erhood" that is based on Christ's command to love all, 
for which North America is now cursed with a large 
colony of Russian Doukhobors in Western Canada, 
doing worship and penance by marching many miles 
in great crowds, naked as when born, both men and 
women, through the deep snow when the cold is below 
zero, and still these fanatical lunatics are a credit to 
many of the incantations, hallucinations and fabulous 
things done and practiced by the Hebrew and Chris- 
tian denominations. What better can be said of the 
old Hebrews with their ignorant, filthy and detestable 
circumcision, falling on their faces in the dirt and 
wallowing in sackcloth and ashes to appease the 
wrath of an imaginary mythical God? 

The Intelligence (God) of all eternity and infinitude 
is not possessed of wrath or anger. Such talk about 
a God getting full of wrath and anger is too silly to 
be considered — only by fools. 

WHERE PEOPLE SHOULD BE WISE. 

Right here in the central part of the United States 
of North America, the most enlightened nation on this 
earth, near the center of Missouri, six miles south- 
east of the city of Tipton, a man named Mulkey was 
very sick with fever, and for fear that he would die 
without being baptized, the hog scalding trough was 
brought in, filled sufficiently with water, and Mulkey 
was lifted from his bed and lowered under the water 
as preacher mumbled over the baptismal ceremony, 
and the water ran in his nose and mouth, strangling 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN ORIGIN. 145 

him to death, as the preacher said: "Bless us, Lord, we 
have saved him, as we got him baptized before he was 
dead." They just took the poor sick man out of his 
bed and murdered him, and then have the effrontery 
to ask their mythical Lord to bless them for what 
they had done ; and the very next day at his funeral 
took up a collection to raise money to send mission- 
aries to preach to the heathen, ninety-five per cent of 
the same going into the preacher's pocket and five per 
cent to the heathen, which all should have gone to the 
poor widow woman and her starving children just 
around the corner. What have we got to do with the 
heathen? The less we have of them the better off 
for the world and people that live in it. Anna Peter- 
son, a devout Christian of Mound City, Kansas, in 
imitation of those Hebrew Bible examples, put her 
fourteen months old baby in the stove and offered it 
up as a burnt offering to the Hebrew and Christian 
God, who, as she learned from the Hebrew and Chris- 
tian Bible, was fond of the "sweet smelling savor em- 
anating from burning sacrifice." And a consistent He- 
brew and Christian Bible believer and pious church 
member of Pocasset, Massachusetts, sacrificed his lit- 
tle three year old girl to Christian Moloch in the most, 
brutal manner. Guiteau was prompted to murder Gar- 
field from the pernicious source of the teachings of 
Theism and the Bible. Did space permit, we could re- 
fer to hundreds of like cases, but the above must 
sufHce. If the deluded victims of Hebrew and Chris- 
tian superstition have to have a Bible let them adopt 
one whose precepts and examples does not sanction 
tryanny, slavery, persecution and cruelty. 

10 



146 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

IS GUILTY OF OUTRAGE, INJUSTICE AND VANITY. 

This Hebrew God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that 
he would not let the people go, and then sent upon 
him and his people a long list of horrible plagues to 
compel him to do the very thing the Hebrew God 
hardened his heart to prevent him from doing. Hard- 
ened his heart and then fearfully scourged him for 
being hard-hearted, and all for the purpose of getting 
for his infinite Godship a great name throughout the 
earth. (Ex. 9: 12, 16.) This Jehovah God is repre- 
sented as ''a god of battle whose sword is filled with 
blood" (Isa. 63: 3, 4). Could a fiend infernal ever 
utter a threat more cruel and vindictive than this? 
With such a God is it to be wondered at that Chris- 
tians crimsoned the Dark Ages with innocent blood, 
and that it now takes three millions of armed men to 
keep the peace in Christian Europe at an expense of 
billions of dollars annually, which enormous sum is 
wrung from the oppressed and enslaved toilers by an 
army of remorseless tax gatherers. Verily, man can- 
not be better than the God he worships. 

This deific caricature on the entire theistic family 
was guilty of the meanest phase of partiality, as this 
Hebrew and Christian God is represented as loving 
one child and hating another before either of them 
were born. (Rom. 9: 11.) Sunday School teachers, 
from ignorance or knavery, inform their classes that 
the word ''hate" in this instance does not mean hate, 
but "love less" — that is, God loved Esau less than 
this God did Jacob. Let us see. The prophet Malachi, 
in referring to this subject, uses the following lan- 
guage to explain to us just what love less, in this in- 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN ORIGIN. 147 

Stance, means: "Was not Esau Jacob's brother, saith 
the Lord, and yet I loved Jacob and hated Esau, and 
laid his mountains and heritage waste to the dragons 
of the wilderness." "Love less" with a vengeance, 
that. "Whereas Edom saith, we are impoverished, 
but we will return and build up our desolate places. 
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, they shall build up, but 
I will tear down ; they shall be called a people against 
whom the indignation of the Lord endureth forever." 
(Mai. 1: 2, 4.) And all of this calamity befell the 
Edomites because 200 years before a vindictive and 
malicious God loved one child and hated another be- 
fore either of them was born. What a travesty on 
justice and heavenly paternity. But this is not the 
worst reflection on their "Heavenly Father" who has 
abiding care over "falling sparrows" but seems most 
cruelly disposed toward this God's creatures who are 
unfortunate enough to belong to the genus homo. 
This pretended hate of Esau was to have some nation 
to rob and plunder. Sure, it was a very flimsy ex- 
cuse, but the old Hebrews, when they had no excuse, 
they made one, as lying, stealing and murdering was 
their trade. The record of the old Hebrew nation 
is the most detestable for cruelty and unjustified mur- 
der and bloodshed that is found in history. Then we 
hear the people prating about the morals of Moses 
and Joshua. 

When there never was an Indian chief in North 
or South America but had more and better morals 
and more divine sympathy and less thirst for blood 
and plunder than the Hebrew and Christian's sainted 
old Moses and Joshua, whose decalogue was rape,, 
rapine, plunder, indiscriminate slaughtering nations, 



148 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

even the babies, and by ripping up women with the 
swords for fear a male child might be born. 



PAUL GIVES YOU AN EYE OPENER. 

Paul, the inspired promulgator of divine truths, 
informs us that the Christian ''Heavenly God," whose 
"tender mercies are over all God's works," actually 
sends God's people "strong delusions to believe a lie, 
that they might all be damned." (2 Thess. 2:10, 11.) 
How considerate this Almighty God is for the welfare 
of the people. The reason for this mystical delusion 
and its mythical damnation is "because they believe 
not the truth." Who is to blame for the prevalence of 
Atheism in the face of these revolting statements made 
to us in the name of divine Truths. 

A GOD GUILTY OF FALSEHOOD AND DECEPTION. 

The prophet Michai bears testimony as to the immac- 
ulate character of the Hebrew and Christian's "Heav- 
enly Lord" in the following significant manner: "I saw 
the Lord sitting on the throne and all the host of 
heaven standing near by, and the Lord said: "Who 
will persuade Ahab that he go up to Ramath Gilead 
and fall? And one said in this manner, and another 
said in that manner. And there came forth a spirit and 
stood before' the Lord and said, I will persuade Ahab. 
And the Lord said unto this spirit. Wherewith? And 
this spirit said, I will go forth and be a lying spirit 
in the mouth of all Ahab's prophets, and this same 
Lord said, "Thou shalt persuade Ahab and prevail 
also. Go forth and do so." (1 Kings 22: 19, 20, 21. Here 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN. ORIGIN. 149 

through the clairvoyant vision of the prophet, we get 
a glimpse of the Hebrew and Christian home in glory, 
and lo, what a scene ! Their mythical Heavenly Fa- 
ther and a lot of lying spirits putting up a job on 
King Ahab, and sending out a lying emissary, who by 
the grossest deception lured the old king to his de- 
struction. What a sad commentary on intelligence 
and honesty of that age, when the masses accept such 
offensive bosh as inspired truth. This God, so ab- 
jectly feared and devoutly worshiped by the Hebrew 
and Christians, seduced not only the prophets of Ahab, 
but at times grossly deceived this God's own favorite 
seers. Ezekiel declared that "if a prophet be de- 
ceived when he has spoken a thing, I, the Lord God, 
have deceived that prophet;" and poor old Jeremiah, 
in his humiliation, cried out: ''Oh Lord, thou hast 
deceived me and I was deceived and am held in de- 
rision daily." "Ah, Lord God, thou hast surely greatly 
deceived this people, saying, ye shall have peace, when 
the sword reaches to the soul." (Ezek..l4: 9; Jer. 20: 
7, 4: 10.) "Be ye perfect even as your Father in 
Heaven is perfect." This God had lying spirits to 
deceive the prophets, but deceived them Godself, and 
had them lie for him, whenever more lying was neces- 
sary in this God's mythical schemes of deception to 
keep the masses under control of priestcraft, and in 
that way make the ignorant people fear and obey the 
priest or Levites. The God of the Hebrew and 
Christian Bible was only a myth for the use of the 
Levites and priests and preachers to tell the people 
about what wonderful things were done or took place 
when their mythical God was making the world and 



150 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

all things thereon, and bringing the human race into ex- 
istence for no other purpose only than to offer up long 
prayers to God and love God with all their" ignorant 
minds, and to give money, tithe and the fat of the 
land to the Levites, priests and preachers, to tell 
them when and how to do it in order to help a needy 
God, which can only be myth, as the great Intelli- 
gence (God) is in the superlative degree perfection, 
wherein help or assistance cannot be received. 

THE HEBREW AND CHRISTIAN GOD VIOLATES 
OATHS AND PROMISES. 

This Great Jehovah God at divers times made 
oaths and promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to 
lead their posterity to the land of Canaan, which 
should be to them an everlasting inheritance, but at 
a more advanced period of Hebrew history and while 
suffering from one of that God's periodical spells of 
anger, caused by some blunders and mistakes in myth- 
ical science, this Jehovah God addressed Moses 
thusly: ''Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the 
Lord, ye shall not enter into the land concerning 
which I swore to. make you dwell therein, and your 
children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, 
until your carcasses are wasted, and ye shall know 
my breach of promise." (Num. 14: 27-34.) This 
Jehovah God violates solemn oaths and promises, and 
then boasts of it like a pirate, but perhaps the most 
cold-blooded, cruel and perfidious thing ever attri- 
buted to the Hebrew and Christian God, was the 
fiendish treatment of the greatest and most just man, 
servant Job. Satan the arch-fiend of hate and malice, 
the wrecker of worlds, the enemy of all good, and the 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN ORIGIN. 151 

fell destroyer of all mankind's peace and happiness 
pays one of Satan's familiar visits to the Celestial 
Metropolis and enjoys a social conference with the 
Christian's August Ruler of the Heavens and the 
Earth. During- the conversation between the godship. 
and the devilship, the former referred feelingly to 
Job, and eulogized him as a perfect and upright man 
that "eschewed evil and sinned not." The devil dis- 
sented from the Lord's opinion, and disputed Job's 
fidelity, and God, to convince this infernal guest that 
Satan was mistaken, gave the devil power to prove 
Job's integrity in the appalling and cruel manner, and 
Satan, invested with divine authority, at once visited 
on this hapless victim of divine perfidy the most fear- 
ful calamities, calling down fire from Heaven and 
consumed his vast flocks of sheep ; sent the Bedouin 
Arabs from the desert and drove off his herds of 
camels ; originated a cyclone and demolished the house 
in which Job's children were holding a feast, killing 
them all. Thus did Satan, by divine sanction, reduce 
Job in a single day from affluence to the most abject 
poverty, and bereft him of all his children. Could 
infernal malice do more? It seems that the measure 
of cruelty against Job was not complete, and Satan 
visited this God's Celestial Highness to obtain further 
authority to torture this helpless victim. To destroy 
Job's property and bereave him of his children did 
not satisfy the malice of Satan, and he craved per- 
mission of the "Blessed Lord" to torture Job's body. 
What was the "Heavenly Father's" answer to this 
infamous demand ; it was of a nature that should 
schedule this mythical God's name for perpetual in- 
famy among the gods. Listen to it, ye Hebrew and 



152 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Christian devotees of the god-defaming and the peo- 
ple-degrading theology, and hide your faces in shame. 
The 'Xord of Glory" answers Satan's cruel demand 
with these words : "Although thou movedst me 
against him to destroy him without a cause." (Job 
2 : 3.) What power Satan must have had to move 
what the Hebrews and Christians believe to be an 
infinite God to destroy this God's greatest and up- 
right and sinless servant without a cause; Christians 
please analyze this answer well, and if you do not 
renounce allegiance to a book containing such loath- 
some ideas of God and justice, it proves that Hebrew 
theism had dwarfed all your nobler impulses and 
left no trace of justice, sympathy or even decency, 
behind. But Satan got the permission carried his 
point all the same, and smote his helpless victim with 
boils, from the crown of his head to the soles of his 
feet; and so sore were his afflictions and keen his 
agony that he cried out ''Oh, that I had never been 
born !" Oh, to what depths of degradation does su- 
perstition sink man, that he is capable of accepting 
as. truth such hideous caricatures on justice and dec- 
ency. Here is the God of the Hebrew and Christians 
just going through all this most detestable, villainous 
crime of punishing Job, a just man, to convince the 
Devil of this God's great power, and make the masses 
of the people tremble with fear at the very mention of 
his name. 

This account of Job's trouble was probably stolen 
from the ancient myth writings of the Grecians, 
Egyptians and Chaldeans, dating back over 30,000 
years and was the common property of the Chaldeans, 
and when the Hebrews were taken to Babylonia they 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN ORIGIN. 153 

got Job's and many other myth's stones and trans- 
formed them as part of their scriptures. Of course 
the whole of Job is a myth, a big lie, but it comes 
handy after it is 10,000 to 30,000 years old to tell the 
people about the powers of Satan, and God's loving 
kindness for a just man. O such love. 

GOD'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND DWELLING 
PLACE. 

He or they who formulated the idea of the He- 
brew and Christian's God secured a perfect corres- 
pondence between that God's character and personal 
appearance. The psalmist in describing his corpor- 
osity tells ns that out of that God's mouth proceeded 
fire and out of that God's nostrils proceeded smoke, 
and this same God rode upon a cherub and did fly. 
(2 Sam. 22: 9-11.) Stop for a moment and contem- 
plate this picture. The infinite ruler of the earth, the 
heavens and the eternal unlimited infinitude, sitting 
astride a Celestial hypogriffe, and riding through the 
vast empyrean, with great lurid flame of fire emanat- 
ing from that God's cavernous mouth, and vast vol- 
umns of smoke belching forth from the labyrinthian 
depths of that God's wide extended nostrils. Who 
can contemplate this scene and not be filled with un- 
bounded admiration and love. This highflying rough- 
rider God was in strict keeping and general appear- 
ance of the same God's character having a dwelling 
in a secret place of darkness, where the clouds and 
darkness are around about this God's royal highness. 
(Psalms 18: 11; 97: 2.) God loved Satan more than 
Job. This fact must be extremely consoling to those 
who expect to spend an eternity in this God commo- 



154 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

dious presence. Oh, Christian, what fearful spell 
has been thrown on you that you bow in reverence 
before this cruel and remorseless God, and call such 
a God by the sacred name of Father. In a spirit of 
candor I admonish you not to stultify your reason 
longer. Make a bold break for liberty, and strike 
off the shackles riveted on you by a mind-degrading 
theology. Play no longer the role of a slave to ec- 
clesiastical master, but step out into the dignity of 
true manhood and womanhood and dare to think for 
yourselves and be free. Personal and infinity con- 
tradictory. 

No personal God can be infinite because Person- 
ality has limits, and the Infinite has not. It is not 
logical to say one Infinite God. Theologians prate 
about monotheism — the one god idea — in contra- 
distinction of polytheism — the idea of many gods. 
The Infinite can no more be unified or reduced to one 
than a circumference can be found in space, which 
is without a center and is boundless. It would be 
as easy to collect and confine in the hollow of the 
human hand the entire waters of the combined oceans 
of our globe, as to personalize or unify the infinite. 
Then why outrage reason and contradict geometry, 
in trying to define the indefinable and comprehend 
the incomprehensible. The absolute is, and ever will 
be beyond the grasp of the finite, for the reason that 
the part can never equal the whole. The thing com- 
prehending must be equal to or greater than the 
thing comprehended, hence to comprehend the in- 
finite, we must be equal to or greater than the infinite, 
and to do this lies forever beyond the range of re- 
motest possibility. Then why speculate further on 



GOD IDEA OF HUMAN ORIGIN. 155 

Theology. Would it not be better to banish the whole 
subject from the human mind and turn our attention 
from theology to anthropology, or the study of man- 
kind, and live for the betterment of all the human 
race and realize that Intelligence is God, and that is 
all the God the human race will ever know. The 
Emanuel within you and all the human race is the 
God for you to look to, and keep your honor bright. 
When you go to any church where the worship of 
a man God is the theme of the priest or preacher, does 
he tell you how to cultivate the land so as to get the 
most out of your sweat and toil, does he tell of the 
many new things that has been or can be invented 
that will greatly assist you as well as your neighbor 
how to live more comfortable, wherein you would have 
more time to seek and acquire Intelligence, and be of 
more use to yourself, your family, your friends, and 
to the world generally? Does he tell you to build 
better school houses, so that each and every generation 
of the future will be more Intelligent, and thereby be 
better able to live in comfort and ease, with less toil 
and hardship? Does he tell you all about the laws 
of human temperaments that should govern the mat- 
ing in all marriage unions, that would result in better 
physical structure of the human organization, with bet- 
ter health, better minds, and with less sickness, sor- 
row, drugs and doctor bills, as well as more joy and 
happiness for the offspring from such marriage unions? 
These are some of the things they should tell you, 
but what do they tell you, only a lot of bosh. 



CHAPTER 18. 

THE OBJECT OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE 
HUMAN RACE AND THEIR RESPON- 
SIBILITY TO GOD. 

"They are to glorify God" so says the Hebrew 
and Christian. How absurd and yet how universally 
accepted by the unthinking orthodox masses. Com- 
mon sense should teach them the utter futility of 
trying to add to or improve perfection. If God is 
perfect, then all God's attributes are perfect, 
therefore not susceptible of increase or improvement ; 
hence all the time the people has devoted to the help 
of the Hebrew and Christian's God has been worse 
than wasted — wasted on the Hebrew and Christian's 
God — to the neglect and injury of the human race. 

The people should devote their time and effort in 
glorifying themselves, and today they would stand 
imperial in their intelligence and power instead 
of the poor ignorant groveling things they are, wear- 
ing the yoke of their political and religious task- 
masters. One of the most pernicious features of He- 
brew and Christian theism is the idea of the whole 
human race's responsibility to God. This idea has 
enabled the priest and preachers to enslave the masses 
through fear, and wrest from them rich benefices by 
thus playing on the fears of their communicants. 
Church officials manage to revel in ease and luxury 
while their deluded dupes languish in penury and 
want. The origination and intelHgent forces that 
156 



OBJECT OF EXISTENCE OF HUMAN RACE. 157 

cause man's existence on the earth are responsible 
for his actions. The Maker is responsible for the 
merit or demerit of the thing made, and not the 
human race responsible to the Maker. The theo- 
logians may indulge in their silly twaddle about ''Free 
Will" but the fact that the human race are creatures 
of inherited predisposition and post-natal circum- 
stances remains unchanged all the same. When hu- 
man beings are pre-natally awakened to a state of 
intelligent consciousness, and are consulted as to 
whether they will be or not be, and are allowed to 
indicate the quality of their parentage, the character 
of their inherited predispositions and their post-natal 
circumstances, then, and then only will they become 
responsible for their actions ; but just so long as they 
are arbitrarily and blindly thrust into the world with- 
out any voi-ce as to the character of their parentage, 
and pre-natal conditions and post-natal circumstances, 
just so long will they be devoid of that phase of re- 
sponsibility, about which priests and preachers so 
loudly prate. When the people intelligently outgrow 
the idea of a personal god with all the connected ab- 
surdities, then will they have taken the first step tow- 
ard individual natal liberty. At present they arc 
pitiful parasites, dependent on their theological coun- 
selors for guidance and direction, where for centur- 
ies they have been victimized by their erroneous 
teachings. The people when once emancipated from 
their superstitious thralldom, will experience a mar- 
velous change for the better — a change from error 
to truth, from ignorance to intelligence, from driveling 
slavery to an imperial freedom, from servile fears and 
doubt to hope and unwavering confidence, and from 



158 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

the caprice of a mythical God to the certainty and in- 
falHbility of Intelligence (God.) The transition from 
Hebrew and Christian theism to a full understanding 
that there is no Man God; that there is an almighty 
and powerful God, and that God is Intelligence and is 
in every human being and throughout the unlimited 
ethereal space and infinitude. The more you seek 
intelligence the more God you will have within you, 
to protect you from being robbed by the priest and 
preachers. 

THE FACTS. 

The God of all Eternity and throughout all Infini- 
tude is always with you in proportion as you adapt 
yourself to receive God, by allowing yourself to be 
possessed of an untrammeled conscience, and wisdom 
to absorb God's greatest gift to mankind, human rea- 
son, which is the open door through which Intelli- 
gence (God) enters into the existence of every human 
being. The more reasoning force, the more Intelli- 
gence (God) every human being will possess. The 
age of Hebrew and Christian theism will always be 
contemplated with deep feelings of loathing and dis- 
gust, and will always be designated in history as the 
darkest period of human existence. This assertion 
may sound harsh and unwarranted to orthodox ears, 
but I will give below a few corroborative facts 
chosen from a list of many thousands in explanation. 
The old Hebrew and Christian Bible. The Hebrew 
and Christian theism, and Hebrew and Christian wor- 
ship of a man God, is the greatest curse the people 
of this world has ever known. In the year 391 the 
Christians burned the Serapian library, at Alexandria, 



OBJECT OF EXISTENCE OP HUMAN RACE. 159 

Egypt, containing 700,000 volumes — the cream of the 
world's literature. A few years later, by order of 
Archbishop Cyril, they brutally murdered Hypatia, 
the maiden philosopher of Greece, who was then lee 
luring to assembled thousands in the auditorium ol 
the Temple of Serapis. These and many other acts 
of murder and vandalism, resulted in the suppression 
of the Greek Schools of Philosophy and turned the Eu- 
ropean World into dark night of Hebrew and Chris- 
tian barbarism, that hung over the race like a deathly 
nightmare for twelve hundred years. The historian 
has branded this era of Hebrew and Christian domin- 
ation as the "Dark Ages." Remember, that during 
this period, from the fourth to the seventeenth cen- 
tury, Hebrew theism and Christianity had complete 
control of the European nations in government, law, 
literature and religion, and human rights were un- 
known while ignorance, injustice, outrage, oppression 
and wrong enveloped the race like some black pall 
of death. To use the confession of John Wesley when 
referring to this period : 

**As the once most unhappy age set in 
All wickedness and every deadly sin, 
Truth, modesty and love fled away 
And force and thirst for gold claimed universal sway." 

{Wes. Ser. Vol. 2, page 6Jf.) 

In 1096 the Christians inaugurated the crusades 
under the banner of the Cross, lasting near two cen- 
turies, and resulting in the wanton destruction of 
countless treasure and over 5,000,000 of lives. It was 
during this period that the crusaders sacked and 
burned the city of Cordova, with its magnificent li- 
brary of 28,000 volumes, and Tripoli, of Algiers, with 



160 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

its library of 300,000 volumes. For centuries during 
this period of Hebrew and Christian domination, the 
Church in Europe was kept busy in ferreting out, 
condemning and burning witches and heretics. The 
Hebrew and Christian Bible, which our God-in-the- 
constitution folks want constituted the supreme law 
of the land, gave two explicit laws as to the disposition 
to be made of heretics and witches. Kill any one, 
even your bosom friend and nearest relatives if they 
dare advocate a religion or more properly Atheism, 
that differs from the approved religion of your fathers 
and do not "suffer a witch to live." (Deut. 13 : 6,-13.) 

All that did not pay the priest were charged as 
being heretics or witches, and were burned alive to 
deter others so they dared not fail to pay the priest 
and preachers for fear that charges would be brought 
against them for heresy or witchcraft, and they too be 
burnt at the stake. 

WHEN THE HEBREW AND CHRISTIAN BIBLE RULED. 

During this age the Hebrew and Christian Bible 
ruled the Church and the Church ruled the State, and 
the people mourned. All literature not biblical was 
proscribed under penalty of death. Dr. Draper tells 
us that "The people in terror burned their libraries 
to save themselves and families from destruction." 
(I. D. O. E. page 23) Chambers' Encyclopedia esti- 
mates the number burned for witchcraft alone at 9,000- 
000. Dr. Dick, an ecclesiastical writer, states that 100, 
000 of Germany's best men and women were burned 
alive at the stake during the fourteenth century for 
the crime of witchcraft — a crime unknown to science. 
John Wesley tells us in his sermon that the religious 



OBJECT OF EXISTENCE OF HUMAN RACE. 161 

contentions and persecutions were so fierce and un- 
sparing during this age of Hebrew and Christian 
brotherly love that 40,000,000 were slaughtered with- 
in the short space of forty years. Was ever record 
of death and cruelty so awful and appalling as this? 
Darwin says that during the prevalence of this He- 
brew and Christian holocaust and carnival of death, 
that the scholars of Europe were depleted by means 
of dungeons, racks, gibbets and stakes at the rate of 
a thousand a year — for three centuries, 300,000 teach- 
ers and philosophers destroyed. Did it ever occur to 
you that the drunkenness and licentiousness of this 
age were due to the same cause, the adoption of the 
Hebrew and Christian Bible precepts and examples 
as standards by the orthodox masses. From the com- 
mencement of the Christian Era until near the close 
of the fourteenth century, the Hebrew and Christian 
world in its cruelty and bigotry gave to human rights 
and individual liberty not a shadow of recognition. 
But in 1776, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, George 
Washington^ Dr. Franklin, Hamilton and other grand 
old infidel patriots drew up a declaration of independ- 
ence, and later adopted a constitution out of which 
God and Christ were expunged by a majority vote, 
and under this Godless and Christless constitution 
men and women have enjoyed a greater measure of 
individual liberty than ever before. What a contrast 
this infidel government presents to the tyranny, op- 
pression and cruelty characterizing the Hebrew and 
Christian governments of Europe for 1200 years, when 
the Hebrew and Christian Bible was accepted as the 
true charter of government and the correct standard 
of morality. With no infidel to protest against or 
11 



162 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

modify its noxious influence, and yet in the face of 
these facts we have people so bHnded and deluded 
by the teachings of the Church that they are in favor 
of fostering God and Christ in the constitution and 
striking a death-blow to our liberties. No wonder 
that ignorance, superstition and violence cover the 
earth as with a mantle. Truthfully did John Wesley 
when referring to this fateful age of Hebrew and 
Christian domination, cry out: ''Oh, Earth, Earth, 
Earth ! How dost thou groan under the villainies of 
thy Hebrew and Christians !" (Wes. Ser. page 66, 
paragraph 33.) Well did Talmadge say, referring to 
the same era when the teachings of the Hebrew and 
Christian Bible were practically obeyed, that "right 
along beside consecrated altars there were tides of 
drunkenness and licentiousness such as the world 
had never seen or heard of. And the people went 
from the house of God into the most appalling in- 
iquity." (Tal. Ser. August 4, 1887.) Just so, Mr. 
Talmadge; causes and effect are ever true to each 
other. The loathsome conditions you speak of were 
the legitimate results of destroying and murdering 
philosophers and literary teachers and adopting the 
standard morals of the Hebrew and Christian Bible, 
as exemplified by its low and obscene teachings and 
examples. Could you expect anything better from 
a people that accepted "Righteous old Abraham and 
his son Isaac, both of which bartered the prostitution 
of their wives to kings for filthy lucre. Incestuous 
old Lot, Judah Onan filth. Good old Jacob, Sainted 
old David, Solomon, Absolom, Amnon and old Saint 
Peter, as their examples of morality, as vile a lot of 
old drunken debauchers as ever disgraced the earth. 



OBJECT OF EXISTENCE OF HUMAN RACE. 163 

with their pestilent, loathsome presence. Why should 
people of education and refinement, who have th2 
welfare of the people at stake, allow such a loathful, 
vulgar and obscene book in their homes, whose teach- 
ings are of the very worst moral character, and its 
presence not at all necessary in this world at present 
or hereafter in this life or after death. Looking- from 
my standpoint of view and basis of information, I 
would advise all the people on the earth to take all the 
books now in existence used as a basis of human w^or- 
ship of God, and cast them out as worthless rubbish, 
as God is perfect and infinite in all attributes and 
human endeavor cannot add anything to perfection. 
When anything is infinite it is forever beyond the 
limit of the finite, and human endeavor is powerless. 
The compilation of millions of books to bolster up a 
myth worship of a man God that has no existence 
is a demonstration of human ignorance verging close 
on insanity. Just think of the money and wealth 
that has been put into great buildings, their equip- 
ments ; hundreds of shiploads of worthless books ; mil- 
lions of priest and preachers employed ; the care and 
repair of such property, all of which has been wrung 
from the sweat and toil of the human race for thou- 
sands of generations, and to what purpose, the wor- 
ship of a man God that does not now nor never has 
existed, a myth, and in addition shiploads of money 
expended on the world's heathens to put their necks 
under the same yoke of humbuggery and superstition^ 
the curse of mankind for thousands of years in the 
past. ■ ^ 



CHAPTER 19. 

ST. PETER MURDERED AND ROBBED 

ANANIAS. 

Perpetual vigilance imperatively necessary. It is 
a mistake to conclude that the days of bigotry and 
persecution are over, while the Hebrew and Christian 
Bible, the charter of tyranny, slavery and oppression 
is still accepted as the standard of human action by 
orthodox masses. Remove the restraining influence 
exerted by an infidel constitution, the liberal press and 
the progressive tendency of the age, and we would 
soon experience a re-enactment of the horrors of the 
Dark Ages. The church bigots, both of the Hebrew, 
Protestant and Catholic, show their true character as 
often as circumstances enable them to do so. In 
Henry county, Tennessee, they arrested two honest, 
industrious and sober men for the crime of working 
on their secluded farms during a single Sunday. They 
were dragged from their homes and helpless families 
by the officers of the law and confined in the filthy 
cells of the county jail at night, and worked with 
felons on the chain gang during the day. Was Rus- 
sian tyranny ever more offensive than this, and similar 
outrages perpetrated by the heartless minions of 
church superstition in our own boasted Land of Free- 
dom? The industry, honesty^ and sobriety of these 
victims of orthodox Hebrew and Christian bigotry 
counted nothing in their favor, 

164 



ST. PETER MURDERED AND ROBBED ANANIAS. 165 

There is no valid reason why any human being- 
should be punished for not considering the day of Sun- 
day holy. The word holy is a myth and has no mean- 
ing separate and apart from church bigots. It is 
not for the State and Nation to say what is holy. 
Every person is responsible for their own actions be- 
fore or after death, not the State or Nation. 

There should never be a day set aside for human 
worship of God, as all such performance is a nuisance, 
and a display of ignorance. God is not a needy God. 
God is infinite in perfection, and with all the eter- 
nal things in all infinitude as attributes, makes it im- 
possible for a finite human being in any manner or 
way to help or assist God,, as God's ways are infinite, 
and all human eflforts is finite. No human being 
should be allowed to worship an imaginary personal 
God, for all such is hereditary insanity, as there is 
not now, nor never was, nor never will be such a 
God; but seek Intelligence (God) all the time from 
the cradle to grave and learn to help yourselves and 
help others when in need. 

HEBREW AND CHRISTIAN NOT HONEST OR MORAL. 

Honesty, uprightness and morality have no legiti- 
mate place in a religion of the Hebrew and Christian 
God and the horrible doctrine of original sin and 
the Vicarious Atonement. The destroying and 
covering up of all the truthful evidence against the 
Hebrew .and Christian Bible has been the chief aim 
and intent of priest and preachercraft from the time 
of their lying Genesis and mythical Adam. At the 
three cities of Cordova, Tripoli and Alexandria the 
Crusaders burned one million and twenty-eight thou- 



166 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

sand volumes of the past world's history, probably 
covering ten thousand years back and before their 
much vaunted Genesis, and some fourteen thousand 
years before Jesus Christ ever saw the manger. Every 
scrap of history that had any tendency to disprove 
the old Hebrew and Christian Bible or the New Tes- 
tament found the fiery furnace or the bottom of the 
sea. The great pile of engravings and manuscripts 
destroyed at the Nicene council, A. D. 325, would in 
all probability have made a book as large as Josephus, 
which would have contained the truthful history of 
the coming of Jesus Christ, and the fabulous things 
he did and said by legerdemain and embellished by 
his loud-mouthed ignorant disciples. But priest and 
preachercraft was not yet satisfied with what they had 
destroyed, but had the finding overhauled again at 
Constantinople, A. D. 381, where they got still more 
thrown out and destroyed. Have you no interest in 
the welfare of the coming generations? Dare you 
remain indifferent or inactive longer? If you do, bow 
your necks and receive the merited brand of traitors 
to -your race and the age in which you live. Ponder 
these facts well, and remember that eternal vigilance 
is the price of Liberty. Martin Luther was without 
doubt, the greatest Catholic priest, and had the great- 
est force of reason of any man associated with his 
church, but it was too hard for him to break away from 
his life training, to keep down human reason and In- 
telligent Thought, was the very foundation of the 
Hebrew and Christian Church, and Ignorance and 
Superstition were the bulwarks supporting the wealth 
and power of the church; see what he said: "Reason, 
the greatest harlot, the Devil's bride, the worst se- 



ST. PETER MURDERED AND ROBBED ANANIAS. 167 

ducer of Mankind." "Oh Man ! Speculate not with 
thy devihsh queries touching God's words and works." 
— Martin Luther. Now compare this with the great- 
est thinker and human reasoner that ever existed on 
the earth, Thomas Jefferson. A man that feared no 
future, and expected no reward. A free man. ''Fix 
Reason on her seat firmly and call to her tribunal 
every opinion ; question boldly even the existence of 
a God, because if there be one, that God must more 
approve the homage of Reason than blind fear." — 
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Peter Carr (see me- 
moirs of Thomas Jefferson.) Such men were scarce 
in Jefferson's time, but they are not scarce these days. 
Half the people in the United States now have opin- 
ions on the same line of thought as Jefferson, Wash- 
ington, Hamilton, Franklin and Paine, and within 
fifty years more the great majority of the educated 
and intelligent people will step boldly out under the 
shade of the liberty tree, which is firmly rooted in 
an infidel constitution, and be free men and women. 
It was these five men and their associates that gave 
the United States an infidel constitution ; free and 
untrammeled thought, the world liberty and the bet- 
terment of mankind. 

Blind, dogmatic, undoubting faith, not morality, 
is the chief requirement of the Christian system. 
Moody, in his meetings, asks prayers for ''the conver- 
sion of moral people." Whittle, in his revivah ser- 
mons, speaks of the sin of morality without faith, and 
the Rev. John Higginson said, "That which is con- 
trary to the Gospel has no rights, and hence should 
have no liberty." The Christian bigots of New York 
and other cities tax the laboring masses to build, fur- 



168 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

nish and support libraries and museums, and then 
close these public institutions on Sunday, the only 
day in the week that the poor man and his family 
have leisure to attend them. 

Reader, do you propose to witness these startling 
infringements of human rights without protest? Are 
you so blind that you cannot see the dark shadows 
of church superstition now surely settling down upon 
us? Do you propose to sit supinely down and allow 
bigoted and tyrannical ecclesiasticism to wrest from 
you the liberties our patriot fathers purchased for you 
with their best blood? 

We feel that it is to the best interest of all free- 
thinkers to stand firm for our rights under a free and 
liberal Infidel Constitution standing for the Facts, the 
Truths and the Reasons to prevail. Half the people 
in this United States of America have the same opinion, 
as expressed in this book. When attacked by man 
god worshipers, always be firm and demand the Facts 
the Truths and the Reasons for such worship 
Always be calm and let them show why their mode of 
worship, based on the worship of he and she Gods, was 
founded on the Facts, the Truths and the Reasons for 
the existence of such man Gods or Supreme Beings, 
and the further they travel out on their mythical 
bridge of pretensions and contentions the sooner the 
bridge will break down and they will find themselves 
in the mire of their own ignorance, and when they 
get themselves washed clean with the crystal water 
of common sense, aided by the superlative soap of 
finite intelligence, they will then be ready to join the 
Freethinkers' Band and beat the drum. 



CHAPTER 20. 

MOSES AND JOSHUA. 

Moses was a murderer (Ex. 2: 12) when he fled to 
the Government of Midian and married one of the 
seven daughters of a priest, who gave him a home and 
protection for forty years, (Ex. 2: 16-21.) and after- 
ward visited him and instructed him how to govern 
his people; but I notice that when another Hebrew 
brought a Midianish woman in sight of .Moses, he and 
the woman were at once murdered in the most cruel 
manner, while Moses and Aaron smiled, and their 
mythical God was so well pleased that he stopped the 
plague. (Num. 25 : 6-8.) It will be noticed that a 
Midianish woman was good enough to be the wife 
of Moses, and good enough for Moses to live with and 
raise his family with, and he was always treated well 
for forty years, but true to Hebrew instinct to return 
evil for good, so Moses gave orders to destroy the 
Midians by murdering and slaying all the males and 
all females that had known man, and that too after they 
were prisoners in their power, but true to Hebrew 
lust the virgins were given to the army for prostitu- 
tion. The number slain was 120,000. The number 
of virgins reserved to appease the lust of the army was 
32,000. Now these are some of the acts and doings 
of that most detestable imbecile Moses, who, in his 
conquest of highway robbery, murder, plunder and 
rapine in the name of his mythical God that never 
had any existence, and then added to his long list of 

169 



170 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

dissembling crimes and villainies by marrying a negro 
woman, who, without doubt, was more than his equal 
from every moral point of view. He was a natural 
born murderer and thief, and all laws he was sup- 
posed to hand down from his mythical God he stole 
from the Midianites and the ancient Chaldean code 
of laws. When the Hebrews went to Egypt there 
were only seventy persons all told (Deut. 10: 21-22.), 
and when they left Egypt 430 years later, they were 
about 600,000 men, or about 2,700,000 people. (Ex. 12: 
37-40.) The secret of that was, before they were 
taken over by Egypt, they were a lazy, do-nothing, 
dishonest set, always poverty stricken, crying for 
water and something to eat. The Egyptians made 
them work, but they could not make them honest, and 
with plenty to eat and exercise, they increased like 
rats, and when they were ready to go, Moses gave 
them his first lesson in training thieves, to take every 
valuable thing that they could get hold of (Ex. 12 : 35.) 
Moses argued with his mythical God, who repented. 
(Ex. 32: 11-14.) Aaron knew all the time that what 
Moses taught was humbuggery, and he was in the 
scheme for the money and spoils in the business, for 
as when Moses failed to return on time he made the 
golden calf for the people to worship. (Ex. 32 : 24.^ 
Moses' legerdemain where he smote the dry rock and 
the water came out for the people and their beasts 
also (Num. 20: 6-12), no such event ever took place; 
just the same as hundreds of other big fabulous lies 
worked into the old Hebrew and Christian Bible his- 
tory by priest and preachercraft to overawe the ig- 
Jiorant people by church hoodwinking deceptions. 
The bigger the lies the better they take with the 



MOSES AND JOSHUA. 171 

church members all over the world. Human reason 
or criticism has no legitimate rights inside of church 
walls. If there ever were devils incarnate on this 
earth, Moses and Joshua was the superlative loving 
pair. They claimed the right to murder, slaughter and 
destroy many nations of innocent people because a 
mythical God that never had any existence had given 
them the country. Their trade was to manufacture 
big lies, slaughter, murder innocent people and carry 
off their property. The North American Indians 
never were more cruel and remorseless in their deeds, 
and still we see and hear priests and preachers in the 
church loudly singing their praise. If I believed in 
the Hebrew and Christian's hell of damnation, I would 
be certain that old Moses and Joshua were right in 
the very middle of it, and then they would fail to get 
justice even there. Then to go to a revival meeting 
and hear the people sing "There we will see the good 
old Moses, there we'll see the good old Moses, there 
we'll see the good old Moses, safe in the Promised 
Land." But not along The Great Moral Way. 

It is beyond the comprehension of the most en- 
lightened men and women to discover what beguiling 
influence or magic wand, that has come over the peo- 
ple that they permit the history of old Moses, Joshua 
and the filthy, obscene, detestable and untruthful old 
Hebrew and Christian Bibles on the center tables of 
their homes or even hidden in the garret. 



CHAPTER 21. 

WHAT ANCIENT HISTORY SHOWS. 

The ancient Grecian, Romanic, Assyrian, Acca- 
dian and Chaldean writers of romance, fiction and 
myths, over ten thousand years before Adam was 
sporting with Eve in the garden, shows the creation 
story. Tower of Babel, confusion of tongues, flood 
and many other big mythical lies, which were stolen 
by the writers of the old filthy, obscene, indecent He- 
brew Scriptures, which has been and is now the great- 
est curse of the human race, as all advancement made 
in discovery, inventions, arts and scientificall}^ illus- 
trated facts, truths and reasons, has been in direct 
opposition to the teachings of the so-called Holy Bible. 
To be ignorant and stay ignorant, is and has been the 
teachings of all church worship (prone not into my 
mysteries.) The more ignorant the people, the more 
money for the priests and preachers. Who ever heard 
of priests or preachers making inventions or discover- 
ies in the great world of science, facts, truths and rea- 
sons. When the priests and preachers read in the 
papers that some grand and new discovery has been 
made in the advancement of science in the great field 
of facts, truths and reasons, they lay the paper down, 
and take a long look out over their poultry quarters 
for yellow-legged chickens and say, there goes more 
of our salaries. Was off The Great Moral Way. 

Hear Oh Israel, the Lord, our God, is one Lord. 
172 



WHAT ANCIENT HISTORY SHOWS. 173 

This traditional watchword has been for thousands 
of years in the past harped by the Jews, and down to 
the present time, signifying that they were the authors 
of the one God idea, which is contradicted in their own 
absurd, mythical, filthy scriptures, ''and the Lord 
God said, behold the man is become as one of us." 
(Gen. 3 : 22.) "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among 
the Gods." (Ex. 15: IL) "Thou shalt not revile the 
Gods." (Ex. 22: 28.) "For the Lord is a great God, 
and a great king above all Gods." (Ps. 95 : 3.) 

The ancient Chaldeans, Greeks and Romans had 
many Gods, and as the scriptures were mostly stolen 
from these ancient myth writers, dating back from ten 
to thirty thousand years before Adam, it is the natural 
sequence that they also had plural Gods. According 
to the Hebrew and Christian mythology as follows : 
Supreme Being, Deity, Jehovah, Holy Ghost, God, Al- 
mighty, Holy Father, Lord, Messiah, Christ and the 
Goddess Mother Mary. Now are there in the scrip- 
tures or anywhere else, these many supreme rulers or 
Gods, or are all these different rulers or Gods, pure 
appellations, and based on nothing only mythical imag- 
inations, void of facts, truths or reasons. 

These ancient as well as the more modern records 
shows there has been many Saviours, Messiahs, Gods 
ajid Demigods, all of which were born of virgins. 
None of which had any standing, fame or renown ex- 
cept that they were born of virgins. Buddah, Brahma, 
Vishnu, Christ, as well as the Messiahs of Mexico, 
Peru and other countries were all born of virgins. 
Even Alexander the Great marched his army across 
a great barren desert to prove he too was born of 
virgin. To be born of a virgin and fathered by some 



174 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

mythical God was an achievement that only Gods 
could accomplish. The facts, truths and reasons show 
plainly that this most foolish, absurd and detestable 
idea that it is possible for a child to be born of a vir- 
gin still exists among all man God worshipers. 

A disbelief in all the forms of human worship on 
the earth is not a disbelief in God. A belief in the 
nonexistence of a heaven or a hell, is not a disbelief 
in the existence of a God. A belief that all human 
worship of God is unnecessary misleading a nuisance, 
a stumbling block, a great damage,' a great misfortune 
and a great injury to the whole human race (is not a 
disbelief in God), as God has no needs to supply. God 
is perfect and nothing can be added to perfection. A 
perfect square or a perfect circle can never be made 
more perfect, and the two ends of a straight line can 
never come together. It is extremely foolish, absurd, 
irrational and ridiculous to see men that claim to be 
educated and brought up in an enlightened country, 
where every subject can be measured and weighed by 
the superlative rule of facts, truths and reasons, in 
fervent prayer to their imaginary man God, offering 
much love, adoration, glorification, praising and be- 
seeching, and in that adroit way trying to get God to 
help them or their church and despise all others, and 
when done unwinding they receive what the boy shot 
at: nothing. 

A disbelief that a human being has an eternal exist- 
ence after death, is not a disbelief in the existence of 
a God. It is not a disbelief in God to say that the 
Bible and New Testament, Buddhism, Mohammedan- 
ism, Brahmanical, religions, and all the past and pres-. 
ent modes of human worship, were and are the works, 



WHAT ANCIENT HISTORY SHOWS. 175 

writings and chroniclings of men, better known as 
designing priests and preachers, for the purpose of 
robbing the more ignorant people of the entire human 
race, and the object of sending missionaries is to en- 
large their opportunities for still greater robbery. In 
all parts of the earth, the more ignorant the people, 
the more priests and preachers (mythical dead-beats), 
they keep on the payroll, fat and slick. What would 
be the result if all the modes of all church worship- 
on the earth should consolidate in a joint effort, cease 
their wrangling, and smooth over their differences 
and form a church trust-worship; they would soon 
have their heels on the necks of all the people and rule 
supreme, and ignorance would hang over the earth 
like a black mantle where no shadow of intelligence 
would ever penetrate, and the church rulers would 
have an earthly Paradise with the Pope on the throne. 
Allegorical expressions are allowable, and I have 
used such in this book, that it may be more readily 
understood by the masses, who are so trained by such 
expressions. Such as applying gender to God, such as 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Deity, Lord, God, Jeho- 
vah, Almighty, Messiah, Supreme Being, Goddess, Di- 
vinity, Christ, Godhead, Lord Godship and such ex- 
pressions as God sees, God saw, God looked, God 
smiled, God glorified, God helped, God moved, God 
walked, God talked ; and such expressions as spiritual 
body, spirit of man, spirit of God, God's spirit, evil 
spirit, spirit of the Lord, good spirit, Christ's spirit, 
spirit that walketh, angel of the Lord, spiritual being. 
Supreme Ruler, Great Messiah, etc., which all have a 
tendency to establish the existence of a personal God, 
that does not now, nor ever has had any existence. 



176 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. ' 

Intelligence God exists throughout all infinitude 
equally in every place, and does not nor cannot have 
any personality, being infinite cannot be made finite 
or formed into a material body any more than all 
ethereal space can be condensed into one square foot 
and any priest or preacher that represent or assert that 
there is now or ever has been a personal God (or a 
man God) on this earth is either a fool or insane. 

There is no such thing as Lord, Jehovah, Supreme 
Being, Almighty, Heavenly Father, Heavenly Ruler, 
Heavenly Designer, Deity, Ghost, Holy Ghost, Angel 
of the Lord, Archangel, Messiah, etc. All of which 
are inventions of priest and preachercraft, to bolster 
up and force upon all the human race, a man-God, to 
back up human worship with all of its baneful and 
obnoxious, misleading influences; a thing that is not 
at all necessary, a stumbling block, and in no sense at 
all of any use whatever, and a most detestible curse 
to all mankind. There is no such thing as divinity, 
deify, saint, sanctity, sanctify, sanctuary, sanctum, 
saintly or holy, all of which are inventions of priest 
aad preachercraft, to pour fourth effusions of hypo- 
thetical, double rectified gush in rhetorical orations 
to mislead the people to believe in a man-God, and 
the necessity of human worship, in order that they„ 
the priest and preachers be supported luxuriously 
from the toil and labor of the misled and ignorant peo- 
ple. There is such a thing as crimes punishable by 
human laws, but there is no such a thing as sin punish- 
able after death in an eternal hell, for there is no such 
place. Do not expect any reward in an eternal hea- 
ven, as there is no such place. 

The many words that really have no meaning, nor 



WHAT ANCIENT HISTORY SHOWS. 177 

can have none, coupled with compound words and 
phrases, built up by priest and preachercraft, and usee 
allegorically to give flow and force to their rhetorical 
orations such as Lord, Deity, Almighty, Supreme Be- 
ing, Jehovah, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Holy Angel, 
Holy Divinity, Holy Trinity, Holy Sanctuary, Holy 
Saints, Holy Sanctum, Holy Father, Holy Mother, 
Holy Jehovah, Holy Saviour, Holy Messiah, Holy 
Bible, the Holy City in the sky, hallow be that rest- 
ing place forever and forever, for all that are regis- 
tered in and by the churches in the book of the miracu- 
lous and Holy Jesus Christ, But that sin, the Devil's 
treasury box, Satan's stock in trade, if you have any 
of that commodity in your mythical souls you will 
dwell in an unquenchable hell-fire forever and forever. 
Then while the Brothers and Sisters sing doxology, 
come and connect yourselves with the Lord's re- 
deemed, and have a place in the Holy City of the sky, 
and your cash safe in the priest and preachers pockets 
as treasure laid up in heaven to your credit. Now all 
of that rhetorical effusion is just lost wind to the more 
intelligent people. The Great Intelligence God is per- 
fect, and nothing can be added to perfection. God 
cannot receive or accept anything or any help what- 
ever. 

Oh when you come to die, says the human wor- 
shipers of their many mythical Gods, as none have 
same kind of God; each human being's God is just 
what each designs and imagines their God to be, in 
shape, character, force and power. The eternal un- 
limited diversity makes it impossible for any two or 
more things to be the same, and never can be exactly 
alike. So every human worshiper prays to and only 

12 



178 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

such a God as he or her imagination outHnes in their 
minds, and as all human beings only have a finite intelli- 
gence, or only a part of the Great Intelligence God within 
them, they cannot equal the infinite or the Great Intelli- 
gence God, as a part of anything cannot exceed or equal 
the whole thing. (Geometry.) (All human God wor- 
shipers, that have been trained from their childhood to 
believe in an eternal spiritual existence after death, and 
in an eternity of glory and happiness, or in an eternal 
hell of unrelenting punishment of damnation), such as 
these are the people that meet death with the least 
bravery and fortitude, and with greatest fear, trouble 
and sorrow. That great bugaboo of a great heaven and 
great hell in an eternal spiritual existence after death is 
the bulwark of priest and preachercraft, a scheme to rob 
the more ignorant people, and that brings more trouble 
and sorrow to the human race than all other curses com- 
bined. Then to have the worshipers of their mythical 
Man-God loudly prating in the ears of the most intelli- 
gent people, "Oh, when you come to die," it seems that 
these ignorant faith worshipers have taken on too great 
a load of trouble and sorrow, wish to find somebody 
that does not fear death, nor expect reward or punish- 
ment beyond the grave to divide up with in their awful 
afflictions. 

How much better it would have been if they had kept 
their cash, cleared their conscience by honest, virtuous 
and upright dealing on the basis of Facts, Truths and 
Reasons, all through life while traveling along The Great 
Moral Way. 



CHAPTER 22. 

THE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST— THE GOSPEL 
STANDARD OF FAITH— WHAT EVERY HU- 
MAN BEING MUST DO AND BELIEVE 
WITHOUT A DOUBT, IN ORDER 
TO BE A CHRISTIAN. 

The whole cry of all Christian churches are to fol- 
low the instructions and advice of Christ. The first 
thing he did was to convert water into wine for the 
drunkards at a marriage feast. (John 2: 8.) Then 
hang on your swords, for Christ said : "He that hath 
no sword let him sell his garment and buy one." (Luke 
22: 36.) Then by big lies, get the sons mad at their 
fathers, and the daughters mad at their mothers, and 
the daughters-in-laws mad at their mother-in-laws. 
(Matt. 10: 38.) Then all men get a Magdalen girl by 
some name, and stay right with her, and treat her with 
more respect than they ever do their mothers. (John 
2: 4.) Christ said I am not here to bring peace on 
earth, but a sword. (Matt. 10: 34.) Then you must 
hate your father's and mother's, wives and children, 
and brothers and sisters, in order to be one of Christ's 
highflown disciples. (Luke 14: 26.) If you have to 
give up your coat by law, just throw your cloak in 
too. (Matt. 5 : 40.) Give to every hobo that ask you 
(that won't work), and every dead-beat that wishes to 
borrow your money, just hand it right to them as 
treasure laid up in heaven to your credit. (Matt. 5 :42.) 
Take no thought of your future for the needs of your 

179 



180 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

stomachs, or for any raiment to cover the nakedness, 
and be such fools as to accept such absurd and insane 
teachings of Christ. (Matt. 7: 25.) 

The Fathers of our Repubhc, believing that a 
union of church and state is inimical to religious 
liberty, resolved to divorce religion and politics and 
to establish here a secular government in which all 
should enjoy equal rights regardless of their religious 
belief. Certain self-styled ''Reformers," spurning the 
wisdom of our fathers, are striving to undo their work 
and make of this a Christian nation, whose laws shall 
be enacted and administered by Christians only. 

Before such a change is seriously considered would 
it not be well to ascertain if Christians can be found 
to form such a government? If not, the futility of 
the attempt is apparent. Even an absolute monarchy 
will require at least one Christian. Can one be found? 

To find such a human being is not possible except 
among the natural born fools or in the lunatic asylum. 

More than three hundred million people, nearly 
one-fourth of the human race, are professed followers 
of Jesus Christ and are called Christians. There are 
150,000,000 Roman Catholics; 75,000,000 Greek Cath- 
olics ; 25,000,000 Lutherans ; 25,000,000 Episcopalians ; 
25,000,000 Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, etc. 
Nearly one-tenth of these are in the United States. 

There are many so-called Christians. But how 
many real Christians are there? A person may be a 
Catholic, a Lutheran, an Episcopalian, a Methodist, a 
Baptist, or a Presbyterian, and yet not be a Chris- 
tian. He may accept the teachings of Augustine, of 
Luther, of Wesley, of of Calvin, and not be a Chris- 



TEACHINGS OF CHRIST NOT FOLLOWED. 181 

tian. He may even accept the teachings of Paul, of 
Peter, or of John, and not be a Christian. 

What is a Christian? "A Christian is one who be- 
lieves in Christ and obeys his teachings." The re- 
ligion of Jesus Christ is not the religion of theolo- 
gians; the creed of Christ is not the creed of any 
church. No church has ever accepted the doctrines 
of Christ in full ; while nearly every church has held 
doctrines that Christ never taught. The teachings of 
Christ, or the teachings ascribed to him, are accessible 
to all. In the New Testament — in the four gospels^ 
these teachings, given in his own words, are recorded. 
In the following pages the creed of Christ is presented. 
By this standard the faith of every professed Chris- 
tian must be tested. 

THE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST. 

I. COMMANDMENTS. 
Chief Commandments. 

1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
This is the first and great commandment. 

2. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself. (Matt. 12 : 37-39.) 

Other Commandments. 

Thou knowest the commandments : 

1. Do not commit adultery, 

2. Do not kill, 

3. Do not steal, 

4. Do not bear false witness, 

5. Defraud not, 

6. Honor thy father and mother. (Mark 10: 19.) 



182 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Supplemental Commandment. 

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye 
love one another. (John 13: 34.) 

Golden Rule. 

All things whatsoever ye would that men should 
do to you, do ye even so to them. (Matt. 7: 12.) 

11. PRECEPTS. 
Beatitudes. 

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit. 

2. Blessed are they that mourn. , 

3. Blessed are the meek. 

4. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness. 

5. Blessed are the merciful. 

6. Blessed are the pure at heart. 

7 . Blessed are the peacemakers. 

8. Blessed are they which are persecuted for 
righteousness' sake. (Matt. 5 : 3-10.) 

Non-Resistance. 

L Resist not evil. (Matt. 5: 39.) 

2. Unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek 
offer also the other. (Luke 7: 29.) 

3. Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go 
with him twain. (Matt. 5:41.) 

4. If any man will sue thee at the law, and take 
away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. (Matt. 
5 : 40.) 

5. Of him that taketh away thy goods ask them 
not again. (Luke 7: 30.) 

6. Agree with thine adversary quickly. (Matt. 
5:25.) 



TEACHINGS OF CHRIST NOT FOLLOWED. 183 

Charity. 

1. Give to every man that asketh of thee. (Luke 
6:30.) 

2. From him that would borrow of thee turn not 
thou away. (Matt. 5 : 42.) 

3. Lend, hoping for nothing again. (Luke 7: 35.) 

4. Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the 
poor. (Luke 18:22.) 

Poverty. 

1. Blessed be ye poor. (Luke 6: 20.) 

2. But woe unto you that are rich. (Luke 6: 24.) 

3. A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom 
of heaven. (Matt. 19: 23.) 

4. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye 
of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the king- 
dom of God. (Matt. 19 : 24.) 

5. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the 
earth. (Matt. 6: 19.) 

6. Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, 
or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body what ye 
shall put on. (Matt. 7: 25.) 

7. Take therefore no thought for the morrow. 
(Matt. 7:34.) 

Self-Mutilation. 

1. If thy hand offend thee, cut it off. (Mk. 9: 43.) 

2. If thy foot offend thee, cut it off. (Mk. 9 : 45.) 

3. If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out. (Mk. 9 :47.) 

4. There be eunuchs, which have made themselves 
eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that 
is able to receive it let him receive it. (Matt. 19: 12.) 



184 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

L Swear not at all. (Matt. 5: 34.) 

2. Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matt. 7 : L) 

3. Call no man your father upon the earth. (Matt. 
23 : 9.) 

4. Neither be ye called masters. (Matt. 23: 10.) 

5. Do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. 
(Matt. 6: L) 

6. Whosoever shall say Thou fool, shall be in danger 
of hell fire. (Matt. 5 : 22.) 

7. He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost 
hath never forgiveness. (Mk. 3 : 29.) 

8. Love your enemies, do good to them which hate 
you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them 
which despitefully use you. (Luke 4: 27, 28.) 

9. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, 
and mother, and wife and children, and brethren, and 
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my 
disciple. (Luke 19: 26.) 

III. CEREMONIES. 
Baptism. 

1. Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, 
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3 : 5.) 

2. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you. (Matt. 28: 19, 
20.) 

Lord's Supper. 

1. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and 
drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (John 6: 53.) 



TEACHINGS OF CHRIST NOT FOLLOWED. 185 

2. This is my body which is given for you : this do 
in remembrance of me. (Luke 22: 19.) 

3. This cup is the new testament in my blood, which 
is shed for you. (Luke 22: 20.) 

Washing of Feet. 

Ye also ought to wash one another's feet. (John 
13, 14.) 

Fasting. 
When thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy 
face. (Matt. 6: 17.) 

Prayer. 

1. When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret. (Matt. 6: 6.) 

2. After this manner therefore pray ye : Our Father 
which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy 
kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And for- 
give us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead 
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : For 
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
forever. Amen. (Matt. 6: 9-13.) 

IV. EVIDENCES OF BELIEF. 

1. All things are possible to him that believeth. 
(Mk. 9:23.) 

2. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, 
ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 
(John 14:7.) 

3. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I 
do. (John 14: 13.) 

4. Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, 
he will give it you. (John 16: 23.) 



186 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

5. If two of you shall agree on earth as touching 
anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them, 
of my Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 18: 19.) 

6. All things whatsoever, ye shall ask in prayer, be- 
lieving, ye shall receive. (Matt. 21 : 22.) 

7. If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye 
might say unto this sycamine tree. Be thou plucked 
up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it 
should obey you. (Luke 17: 6.) 

8. If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye 
shall say unto this mountain. Remove hence to yonder 
place; and it shall remove. (Matt 17: 20.) 

9. He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 
(John 6: 47.) 

10. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be 
damned. And these signs shall follow them that be- 
lieve : 

a. In my name shall they cast out devils ; 

b. They shall speak with new tongues ; 

c. They shall take up serpents ; 

d. If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt 
them. 

e. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall 
recover. (Mark 16: 15-18.) 

Comments. 

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart." Do you love God with all your heart? Do 
you love him as you love your wife? as you love your 
child? as you love your earthly father? Do you really 
love him at all? You profess to love him, but it is 



TEACHINGS OF CHRIST NOT FOLLOWED. 187 

an empty profession, and If God be omniscient God 
knows it. If you really love God you would not try to 
drag God in the mire of politics to increase the power 
of priests and preachers. 

Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Perhaps, if 
you are single, and she is a widow, and young, and 
beautiful, and rich. 

"Thou knowest the commandments." Christ en- 
joined the observance of a part of the Decalogue and 
ignored the rest. The commandments he ignored are 
those upon which professed Christians place the great- 
est stress, particularly the Fourth, which he not only 
rejected but condemned. The commandments he 
named are good — the only ones that are of value. Most 
so-called Christians obey some of them, few obey all of 
them. Adultery, killing, stealing, lying, cheating, and 
the dishonoring of parents are as prevalent in Christen- 
dom as in heathendom. 

'Xove one another." How Christians do love one 
another! How Greek Catholics loved Roman Catho- 
lics ! How Roman Catholics loved Lutherans ! How 
Anabaptists loved Lutherans ! How Lutherans loved 
both ! How Spanish Christians loved Moorish Chris- 
tians ! How the Catholics loved the Huguenots of 
France ! How the Calvinists loved the Catholics of 
Holland ! How Catholic Mary loved the Protestants ! 
How Protestant Elizabeth loved the Catholics ! How 
the Puritans loved the Quakers ! How the Methodists 
love the Mormons ! How Northern Methodists love 
Southern Methodists ! How Reformed Presbyterians 
love Seventh Day Adventists ! 

Christ, like Confucius, the Greek and Roman sages, 
and the Jewish rabbis, preached the Golden Rule, but 



188 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of all the world Christ's professed followers are least 
prone to practice it. The American Secular Union is 
in favor of the Golden Rule, the National Reform As- 
sociation is opposed to it. State Secularization is the 
application of this rule in the administration of our 
government, National Reform is the repudiation of it. 
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 
needle than for a National Reformer to obey this pre- 
cept. 

The Beatitudes contain some admirable teachings, 
but it is unpleasant to find in the same setting such 
beautiful gems as purity of heart with lumps of char- 
coal like poverty of spirit. It is also to be regretted 
that you, professed Christians, have so little merited 
the rewards promised for the exercise of the finer vir- 
tues. Instead of being peacemakers you have been the 
world's warmakers, and instead of being merciful you 
have been intolerant to a degree that approached fiend- 
ishness. You have been persecuted much and been 
often called on to mourn, but in most instances your 
persecution and grief have been caused by the cruelty 
of your fellow-Christians. You have hungered and 
thirsted for almost everything but righteousness, and 
without being meek you have claimed the reward for 
meekness, and try to inherit the earth. 

''Resist not evil." Intemperance is an evil. Yet 
millions of ''Christian" women, setting at defiance 
Christ's injunction, are resisting it. 

If smitten on one cheek, turn the other. The singu- 
larity of the act will paralyze your assailant with as- 
tonishment. 



TEACHINGS OF CHRIST NOT FOLLOWED. 189 

If one compels you to go a mile with him, go with 
him two ; especially if he has you covered with a Win- 
chester. 

It is interesting to see a Christian in court. If sued 
for his board bill and his coat is attached, he always 
turns over the rest of his clothing. 

A robber takes your goods. If you are a believer 
you will not try to regain possession of them; if you 
are an unbeliever you will shout "stop, thief !" and call 
a policeman. 

''Agree with thine adversary quickly." The devil 
is your adversary. Agree with him quickly. 

"Give to every man that asketh of thee." Your 
ability to give will probably be of short duration ; but 
you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you 
obeyed one of Christ's precepts. 

"From him that would borrow of thee turn not thou 
away." That is, if you have the money, and the in- 
terest and security are satisfactory. 

"Lend, hoping for nothing again." Do you ever 
visit the bank of a Christian? You will always find 
that motto above his door. 

"Sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor." 
Have you had your sale and made your distribution? 

Poverty is commended, and riches condemned. To 
be a Christian you must be poor. If you are rich you 
cannot be saved. Yet one out of every hundred pro- 
fessed Christians has forfeited his salvation, and the 
other ninety-nine are willing to forfeit it. 

Improvidence is a Christian virtue. Tramps and 
vagrants practice it. 

Self-mutilation is commanded. Yet, if some would- 
be follower of Christ attempted to mutilate himself, his 



190 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Christian (?) friends would confine him in a mad- 
house. 

''There be eunuchs. . . for heaven's sake." There 
ought to be more for earth's sake. 

''Swear not;" "judge not." No Christian witness or 
Christian judge will disobey these precepts. 

"Call no man your father." You might be mistaken. 

"Neither be ye called masters." But a generation 
ago, on this continent, a million men, claiming the 
name of Christian, were fighting to retain the relation 
and the name of Master. 

When a Christian makes a donation he never allows 
his name to be published. He always hides his identity 
under the word "cash." 

It is dangerous to say, "Thou fool.'* "We are fools 
for Christ's sake" (1 Cor. 4: 10), but don't m.ention it. 

Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost will never be for- 
given. The Father and Son can stand a joke, but the 
Holy Ghost cannot. 

"Love your enemies," and hate your friends ; father, 
mother, brothers, sisters, wife, and children. This is 
unjust, unnatural, and for the most part impossible; 
but they are the teachings of Christ, and if you are a 
Christian you must obey them. 

Baptism is enjoined. Without baptism you can not 
be saved. " But what constitutes baptism — immersion 
or sprinkling? Christ, by example, taught immersion. 
Yet a large majority of his professed followers prac- 
tice sprinkling. 

You are recommended to celebrate the Eucharist, to 
eat Christ's flesh and drink his blood. What is (Lu- 
ther), or what represents (Zwingle) the flesh of 
Christ? Breado What kind of bread— leavened or un- 



TEACHINGS OF CHRIST NOT FOLLOWED. 191 

leavened, Vienna rolls or hardtack, buckwheat cakes 
or Ezekiel's wafers? What is, or what represents, the 
blood of Christ? Wine. What kind of wine — port, 
sherry, claret, or angelica; unfermented grape-juice, 
such as the church will use in the twentieth century, or 
alcoholic wine, such as Christ made and drank in the 
first century? 

"Ye also ought to wash one another's feet." Few 
"Christians" wash one another's feet. Many do not 
wash their own. 

Voluntary fasting, hair pomades, and orthodox 
Christianity are rapidly falling into disuse. Let us 
hope that clean faces may survive. 

After this manner therefore pray ye [Reformers] : 

"Our Father which art in heaven [and 'which' we 
want on earth], hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom 
come [as soon as Scovel, Crafts, et al., can bring it]. 
Thy [our] will be done in earth, as it is [not done] in 
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread [for we are 
too lazy to earn it]. And forgive us our debts [but 
not as we forgive our debtors]. And lead us not into 
temptation [we are easily tempted], but deliver us 
from [the d]evil : For thine is the kingdom, and [ours] 
the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." 

These fifty-six passages comprise the principal 
teachings of Christ. About one-fourth of these com- 
mandments and precepts are good. All accept them. 
They are not peculiar to Christianity; they are not 
Christian, but human; they are not religious, but 
moral. They were observed before the religion of 
Christ existed ; they will be observed when the religion 
of Christ has been forgotten. Probably as many more 
are of questionable merit. While they contain nothing 



192 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

that is especially harmful, they contain nothing that 
is beneficial to man. The remaining precepts — one- 
half of them — are bad ; they are immoral, impracticable 
or impossible. Few, if any, attempt to obey them. Yet 
one must obey them — must obey all of them — to be a' 
Christian. 

These teachings, many of them, it is urged, were 
intended for the disciples only. Some of them were 
addressed to the disciples, others were addressed to 
the people at large. Many of the most important 
church ceremonies and doctrines — baptism, the Lord's 
supper, the conversion of the world, and others — were 
given to the disciples. You have no authority for acr 
cepting these and. rejecting the others. But Christ 
himself declared that the commands given to his dis- 
ciples were intended for all. **Go ye therefore and 
teach all nations, . . . teaching them to observe 
all things whatsoever I have commanded you." 

A portion of these injunctions, it is claimed, were 
merely temporary and not intended for all time — 
''Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words 
shall not pass away." If a part of them were tem- 
porary, all were. If these teachings in their entirety 
are not binding upon Christians now, none are. When 
they ceased to be obligatory, Christ's church had ful- 
filled its mission and become extinct. If you have a 
right to reject the teachings of improvidence, poverty, 
and non-resistance, we have a right to reject the 
Lord's supper, baptism and prayer. If you have a right 
to reject a part of Christ's teachings, we have a right 
to reject all of them. 

The church has accepted the few teachings of Christ 
which can be easily observed, and rejected those which 



TEACHINGS OF CHRIST NOT FOLLOWED. 193 

cannot. 'Even the teachings she has in a manner ac- 
cepted are changed to suit her convenience. For in- 
stance, the primitive Christians baptized by immersion, 
but the clergy, disHking to go down into the water, as 
Christ did, and wet their clothing, have changed 
Christ's mode and now baptize by sprinkling. 

Not only has the church rejected the greater portion 
of Christ's teachings and altered the remainder, but, 
finding his teachings insufficient to wholly enslave 
mankind and engross powder and profit, she has set up 
doctrines and customs utterly opposed to them. A sal- 
aried ministry, the Christian Sabbath, the control of 
the state — these and many other things taught and 
practiced by the church were condemned by Christ. 

But even the observance of Christ's teachings alone 
is not enough to constitute a Christian. A belief in 
Christ is also necessary. This, indeed, is the first and 
chief requirement. Millions profess to believe in 
Christ, and some try to believe in him. But the pre- 
scribed evidences of belief are clear and unmistakable; 
and tested by these, all are found wanting — pope and 
bishop, priest and preacher, the pious sister and the 
sanctimonious deacon, the supposed saint and the ac- 
knowledged sinner — all fail to believe ; and "he that 
believeth not shall be damned," must suffer "everlast- 
ing punishment," be "cast into hell, into the fire that 
never shall be quenched." 

"All things are possible to him that believeth." All 
things are possible to no man ; for no man believeth. 

"Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I 
do." In Christ's name a thousand things are daily 
asked. He doeth them not. Ye abide not in him, and 
his words abide not in you. 

"If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any- 

13 



194 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

thing that they shall ask, it shall be done^for them." 
Dr. Stevenson and Dr. McAllister, professed disciples 
of Jesus Christ, agreed in asking that God be put in 
the Constitution. It was not done for them. 

"All things whatever ye shall ask in prayer, believ- 
ing, ye shall receive." Twenty million avowed be- 
lievers in Christianity prayed for the recovery of Presi- 
dent Garfield. He died. 

With faith as large as a grain of mustard seed >ou 
can transplant trees and remove mountains. Not even 
a leaf, not even a grain of sand, has been moved by 
faith. Faith is dead. 

*'He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." 
"Christ only hath immortality." 

It may be claimed that these tests of faith refer to 
the Apostolic age — that the age of miracles is past. If 
the age of miracles ever existed, it exists now. It is 
as easy to perform one in the present as it was to per- 
form one in the past. If faith wrought miracles in 
Palestine, it can work them in the United States ; if a 
belief in Christ could produce them nineteen hundred 
years ago it can produce them now. 

"Go ye Into the world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature." The church admits that this com- 
mand refers to the present as well as to the past, and, 
in response to it, declares her mission to be the evan- 
gelization of the world. How may we test the sin- 
cerity of her evangelists and the genuineness of her 
converts? "And these signs shall follow them that 
believe." 

"In my name shall they cast out devils." Demonol- 
ogy, like witchcraft, is a delusion. Science has dem- 
onstrated the non-existence of devils. But a believer 
can expel them. 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OF REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 195 

''They shall speak with new tongues." A Cherokee 
will talk Choctaw; a Filipino will talk Dutch; a York- 
shireman will talk English, and a National Reformer 
will talk sense. 

''They shall take up serpents." Were this the only 
test we might believe that the dime museum was the 
true church of Christ, and the snake charmer his faith- 
ful follower. 

"If they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt 
them." For this test one dose of prussic acid will 
suffice. 

"They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall 
recover." The physician's visit, the prescription on 
the table, the medicine on the mantel; the pallid lips, 
the wasted form, the piteous moans of the sick babe ; 
the hectic flush upon the daug;"hter's cheek — consump- 
tion's dreaded sign; the pleading, agonized look of a 
beloved wife whose body is being slowly consumed 
in fever's deadly furnace ; the light fading forever from 
a dying mother's eyes ; the coffin in the room, the 
crepe on the door, the hearse at the gate — all these 
sad evidences of sickness and of death that sooner or 
later comes to every home, proclaim the fact that there 
is not a Christian in the land. 

CHAPTER 23. 

THE FALL OF ADAM AND EVE AND THE CHRISTIAN 
SCHEME OF REDEMPTION. 

It is taught by believers in orthodox Christianity 
that about 6,000 years ago Adam and Eve fell from a 
state of purity and perfection, by an act of transgres- 
sion. That act, it is urged, involved all mankind 



196 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

throughout all time in depravity and punishment. It 
was thought necessary, therefore, that some plan 
should be devised whereby "fallen humanity" should 
be redeemed from the consequences of the disobedience 
said to have been committed in the garden of Eden. 
To obtain this redemption the Christian scheme of sal- 
vation was originated. What this scheme is has been 
variously explained by different schools of theologians, 
all of whom, however, have professed to base their 
explanations on bible teachings. The Augustinian 
school held that mankind was doomed to hell through 
the fall of Adam, and that Christ's death canceled sin 
committed, and thus saved them from being utterly 
lost. The Calvinists believe that God foresaw that 
Adam would fall, and that posterity would thereby 
be damned, and therefore selected a few termed the 
elect, to be saved, while the many will be lost. Before, 
however, this partial salvation could obtain, it was 
deemed necessary that Christ's life should be sacri- 
ficed as a vicarious punishment for the misdoings of 
our ''first parents." This belief is so unjust and inhu- 
man in its naked form, that those who still retain it 
have to modify it considerably in their advocacy. If 
it be true that God foresaw that Adam would fall, and 
that all his posterity would be damned, then why did 
not God, as a beneficent, all-powerful God, have pre- 
vented the calamity altogether? or, failing in this, have 
included the whole human race among the "elect"? 
The Evangelical Christians suppose that the vicarious 
sufferings of Christ obtained conditional pardon. In 
order, however, for persons to partake of the advan- 
tages of those sufferings, they must have faith that 
Christ died as a substitute — that is, that the innocent 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OF REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 197 

was punished for the guilty. This is justice peculiar 
to Christianity. The Roman Catholic, while teaching 
the fall of man and his salvation through Christ, also 
teaches that none will be saved unless they accept 
the authority of the church and observe its rites. 
This of course is priestcraft, but then what religious 
sect is there which has not its priests? The difference 
between Catholicism and Protestantism upon this 
point is, that while the Catholic is honest and ac- 
knowledges the necessity of a priesthood, the protest- 
ant is dishonest in denying their right, and at the same 
time practicing their evils. The principle in both cases 
is the same, a difference only in degree. The Univer- 
salists consider that no one is damned beyond his per- 
sonal wrong-doing in this world. If they be ever so 
vile, all evil at death departs, and they are ushered into 
heaven pure and spotless. It must be very gratifying 
to the immoral and licentious hypocrites thus to be- 
lieve that their career of debauchery will be no barrier 
to their admission into the celestial city. The Uni- 
tarians rejected all the above theories, regarding the 
object of Christ's life, rather than his death, to be the 
reconciliation of the human race to God. Relying on 
such biblical statements as ''all human beings shall 
die for their own misdeeds;" "To punish the just is 
not good;" "In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin 
thou hast had no pleasure," they consider the popular 
views of the atonement fallacious. This diversity of 
opinion in the Christian world as to the nature and 
object of the scheme of redemption, indicates its per- 
plexing character. Apart from sectarian interpreta- 
tions, the bible plan of the atonement appears to be, 
that nearly 6,000 years ago, an all-wise, all-powerful 



198 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

beneficent God created the world, and then set the hu- 
man race in the midst of a scene, surrounded by temp- 
tations it was impossible for them to withstand; God 
implanted in Adam's brain certain desires which God 
must have known would produce his ruin. A tree is 
then placed by God near Adam, bearing the very fruit 
which God must have been aware would meet those 
desires which he had just planted in the mind of Adam. 
God, all-good, then makes a serpent of the worst pos- 
sible kind, in order that it might be successful in tempt- 
ing Adam to eat. After this, God commands Adam not 
to eat of the fruit under the penalty of death, knowing, 
at the same time that Adam would eat of it and not die. 
God allows the serpent to succeed in his plan, and then 
curses the very ground for yielding the fruit of the tree 
which he (God) had caused to grow. Not content 
with this, the Almighty doomed both man and woman 
to a life of pain and sorrow ; further, he assures them 
that their posterity shall feel the terrible effects of 
their doing what it was impossible for them to avoid. 
At length the unchangeable God changes his plans ; he 
will no longer commit wholesale injustice. God de- 
termined to send Christ, who is as old as himself, and 
therefore not God's son, to die, but who is invested 
with immortality and therefore can not die, to atone 
for wrongs which had never been committed, by people 
who had never been born, and who consequently could 
not very conveniently commit any error. As a conclu- 
sion to the whole, this all-merciful God has prepared 
a material fire of brimstone, to burn the immaterial 
souls of those who fail to see the necessity and justice 
of this jumble of cruelty and absurdity. 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OF REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 199 

Such is the Christian scheme of redemption. And 
the first objection to it is that it is opposed to the at- 
tributes they believe, that the Godhead is composed of 
three persons of one substance, power, and eternity. 
On this supposition, the first person could have no vir- 
tue not possessed by the other two. Admitting, then, 
that infinite justice demanded - that an atonement 
should be made to God the Father, a like plea could be 
urged for an atonement to God the Christ, and atone- 
ment to God the Holy Ghost. For as the three persons 
are indivisible, the "transgression" was made against 
all equally. But we do not read of any sacrifice being 
made to the two last persons in the Trinity; the re- 
demption is therefore incomplete. Again, the three 
persons being one in substance, could a part be wrath- 
ful and a part merciful? The New Testament speaks 
of God's wrath ; and it was from this that the atone- 
ment was to save us, according to the teachings of 
Christians, including such writers as Flavel, Wesley 
and Dr. Watts. If God and Christ, however, are not 
distinct, the one could not be vengeful and the other 
forgiving at the same time. Thus this scheme robs 
the Trinity of the virtue of forgiveness. And really 
this is so. The first person demands payment before 
granting pardon ; the second exacts belief as the con- 
dition of salvation; and the third refuses forgiveness 
for an offence against himself under any circum- 
stances. The same difficulty is manifested in the death 
of a part of the indivisible Godhead. If Christ alone 
died and remained lifeless in the grave for three days, 
he was not equal in eternity to God; if on the other 
hand the whole of the Deity expired, then we have the 
spectacle of a dying and dead God, and the world for 



200 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

a time subsisting without a God to govern it. To say 
that it was only the manhood of Christ which suffered, 
is to advance another difficulty by allying humanity 
with divinity, thus adding a fourth part to the Trinity, 
and destroying the perfection of the whole. For where 
the human element is, there can not be perfection. 
And, moreover, on the Christian theory, a mere hu- 
man death was not adequate to redeem all humanity; 
for this, the suffering and death of a divine God were 
required. 

It will be seen that there were two principal causes 
which were supposed to render the scheme of redemp- 
tion necessary. First, the alleged sin on the part of 
Adam, and secondly the enmity between God and man 
which is stated to have resulted from the partaking of 
the fruit. Now, were these causes real? Was there 
any wrong doing in the case, and did enmity exist? 
Samuel Taylor Coleridge says, "Sin must be a state 
originant in the will of the actor, entirely independent' 
of circumstances extrinsic of that will." Evidently 
there was no such sin as this on Adam's part, for the 
bible shows that he was not independent of external 
circumstances, but rather it was by the force of those 
circumstances that he was impelled to do what he did. 
Can it be deemed wrongful to do that which can not be 
avoided? As to enmity, if God exists and created man, 
God either created the enmity or else man acquired it 
apart from God who could not have created it; being 
infinitely good, how could God have implanted that 
which was bad in all mankind? The human race could 
not have acquired it apart from God, inasmuch as there 
is nothing but what is from God. 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OF REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 201 

It may here be suggested that if this act of redemp- 
tion was necessary, it should have been made im- 
mediately after Adam's transgression, so as to have 
.prevented a single generation going to the grave with 
the curse of original sin unremoved. But, according 
to bible chronology, God was not disposed to show his 
fatherly care too soon. God allowed 4,000 years to 
elapse, and numbers of generations not only to live and 
die, but to run riot in all descriptions of ignorance and 
iniquity, ere the tardy reparation was made. Why was 
this? Did it take God — to whom consideration of time 
is said to be as nothing — 4,000 years to determine how 
to get out of the difficulty which God had caused. 
This can not be, for, according to the bible, God had 
the whole plan of the atonement arranged before 
Adam's fall. Was it that Christ hesitated to obey his 
Father's decree? If no person could be saved except 
those who believed in Christ, what has become of 
those millions of human beings who passed away prior 
to his birth, and what will be the fate of those now 
living who have never heard and never will hear the 
name of Jesus of Nazareth? Were the former saved 
by anticipation, and will the latter be excused on ac- 
count of their ignorance? If so, where was the neces- 
sity of the atonement at all? If all could enter heaven 
without the crucifixion, then Christ need not have suf- 
fered at any period. His sorrow, agony, and bloody 
sweat, might all have been avoided, and numbers of 
saints might have died quietly in their beds, instead 
of enduring tortures at the stake or on the rack. Be- 
sides, if ignorance of this scheme will save from dam- 
nation, is it not useless and cruel to send missionaries 
to the heathens with the *'glad tidings?" Let them 



202 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

not know of it, and they can not be punished for re- 
jecting it; inform them of it, and their eternal hap- 
piness becomes at least doubtful, for their diversity 
of organization and education insures that not all of 
them can accept it as true. As already stated, if the 
death of Christ was absolutely necessary to redeem 
the world, it was unjust upon the part of God to per- 
mit 4,000 years to elapse before the people had the 
benefit of atoning blood. If on the other hand the 
crucifixion of the Savior was not required to' restore 
a lost race, then it was a most cruel and unnatural act 
for God to give Christ to a rabble mob to be tortured 
and executed, amidst the exultation of a disappointed 
and fanatical people. Again, if it was desirable and 
praiseworthy upon the part of God to send Jesus to 
save the world from eternal damnation, how is it that 
when Christ did arrive so many nations were kept in 
ignorance of Christ's mission and purpose? Even the 
Jews, God's peculiar people, had no knowledge what- 
ever that incarnate deity was about to expire on the 
cross. If the regeneration of the world was really the 
object of Christ, how much better would it have been 
if, instead of ascending to heaven to sit at the right 
hand of God, Jesus had remained on earth, preaching 
practical truths, and showing by constant personal ex- 
ample how the world could be rescued from that moral 
and intellectual darkness and despair, to which 4,000 
years of a corrupted theology had reduced it. This 
would have been the true salvation, the best redemp- 
tion, and the only atonement necessary for the wel- 
fare and progress of mankind. . 

The scheme of redemption is also objectionable, 
because of its essential injustice in teaching that the 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OF REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 203 

innocent was made to suffer for the guilty. Justice 
has been defined to "consist in rendiering to every one 
according to their moral deserts ; good if they be good, 
and evil if evil, for the purpose of promoting goodness 
and discouraging guilt." If Christ, therefore, was 
without guilt as stated in the New Testament, was it 
not unjust to punish him for the misdoings of others? 
Suppose a parent who has seven children, six of whom 
are bad, and the seventh good. Would it be deemed 
right on the part of this parent to punish his innocent 
child because the other children were disobedient? 
Such injustice would insure for its perpetrator em- 
phatic condemnation. If a judge, knowingly, were to 
sentence to death an innocent man as the substitute 
for a criminal, his judicial position would be forfeited 
and his conduct regarded with horror and detestation. 
No government would retain the confidence of the 
people of this country, if it were to introduce a meas- 
ure enacting that all priests should die a lingering 
death in prison, simply because their predecessors, in 
outbursts of religious fury, violated the law of right 
and equality, and defiled the earth with human slaugh- 
ter. Recognizing this indignant condemnation by hu- 
man nature of one of the leading principles of the 
atonement doctrine, can we consistently ascribe an 
act to God which human creatures would blush to 
perform? Besides, the doctrine manifests cruelty in 
proclaiming that, although we had no control over the 
deeds of Adam, still we are all "born in guilt and 
steeped in iniquity." The moment we enter this life, 
in our infantile helplessness, our childish simplicity, 
our youthful innocence, we are the victims of the 
wrath of God. Granting that in the earliest period of 



204 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

the world's history an offence was committed, will 
that justify a wrong being wrought upon us, are we 
on that account to be banished from eternal bliss, to 
be condemned to eternal agony? If so, the conduct 
of God to man is fiendishly cruel and unjust; and we, 
though unable to resist God's power, must rightly 
scorn and detest such a God's evil nature. 

It is frequently asserted by defenders of the atone- 
ment doctrine, that in this world, in the course of 
nature, the innocent suffer for the guilty. As for in- 
stance in the case of drunkards and debauchees, who 
transmit disease and debility to their offspring. The 
assertion, however, is groundless. The children re- 
ferred to do not suffer for, but through the vices of 
their parents. Moreover, in such suffering, there is 
no punishment. The children of criminal parents 
are not charged with guilt simply on account of their 
birth. But, according to orthodoxy, Christ was pun- 
ished for the wrong acts of the world, which was ex- 
pressly imputed to him. 

The inconsistency of this scheme of redemption is 
as- palpable as are its cruelty and injustice. We are 
told that the death of Christ was ordained before the 
foundation of the world; and we are likewise told 
that man was created perfect and immortal. The 
inconsistency here is so glaring, that it is really mar- 
velous how it can pass undetected. If it was ordained 
that Christ should die for the redemption of the world, 
the transgressions of Adam and Eve were only a part 
of God's plan, and certainly did not merit any curse 
but rather a blessing. To urge that man had a free 
will does not remove the difficulty. If man had any 
choice in the matter, and supposing he had chosen 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OF REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 205 

differently, God's plans would have been thwarted. 
The scheme implies that the whole human race was so 
made, that they could follow but one course, the course 
which should ultimately lead to the sacrifice of Christ. 
Thus the fourth Gospel tells us that Christ knew from 
the beginning that Judas would betray him. Further, 
the mission of Christ on earth would have been fruit- 
less unless he was crucified, then, instead of denounc- 
ing unfortunate Judas, he should be considered by 
Christians as a hero worthy of having a monument 
erected to his memory. Now, if the death of Christ 
was pre-ordained, so also was "the fall of man," for 
the one depends upon the other. ''For as in Adam all 
died, so in Christ shall all be made alive." If this be 
true, it was impossible for man to be created perfect. 
But the very fact of man's "falling," or giving way to 
temptation, must be a proof of his imperfection. Again, 
notwithstanding that Christ is represented as having 
made a full and complete satisfaction for all misdeeds 
that we may secure a share of what Christ died for, 
we are to lead a life of sacrifice and penitence, whether 
it agrees with our honest opinion or not. If Christ 
did pay the debt for our wrong doings, why should 
we be called upon to make a second payment? An- 
other inconsistency is to be found between the state- 
ment that God sent Christ to save the whole world, 
and by the conduct of Christ while on earth. If uni- 
versal salvation was the object of Christ's advent 
among the human race, his mission has been a decided 
failure. Christ, however, never attempted to achieve 
this result. While thousands were dying without the 
knowledge of the Messiah, he, instead of going among 
the vast heathen nations, imparting what information 



206 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

he had, remained hurHng bitter reproaches at the 
Pharisees in his own insignificant country. But Christ 
did not come to save the whole world ; his own words 
clearly and unmistakably deny the supposition. His 
mission was to the Jews and to the Jews alone. And 
even among them his labors were not crowned with 
success. Following Christ to the close of his career, 
have we not a "sorry sight" in beholding the culmina- 
tion of inconsistency as manifested in the garden of 
Gethsemane? Here we see a man, who all his life 
had preached the utility of a faith, which it was said 
not only afforded consolation through life, but was 
also capable of robbing death of its terrors ; yet when 
the hour of death approached, when the period had 
arrived for him to prove to the world the efficacy of 
this faith, we find him tortured with agony and racked 
with fear. In that scene, which was not only to 
rivet the attention of an amazed multitude, but also 
.to consecrate a life of divinity — a scene which was 
not only to be the great climax to the scheme of re- 
demption, but was also to remain a lasting monument 
of love to a wondering people ; at this moment v/hen 
the hopes of his believers were about to be sealed, 
when "he should have maintained his position bravely 
and nobly, we find him weak, vacillating, and in bitter 
despair praying that the cup might pass from him. 

Where do we find consistency in this doctrine of 
atonement? Is it in the conduct of its hero, who came 
to die for all human kind, yet, when about to fulfill 
his destiny, implored to be allowed to evade the task? 
Is it in the assertion that finite man had committed an 
infinite ofifense against an infinite God, and that there- 
fore an infinite atonement was necessary, while we 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OP REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 207 

nevertheless learn that it was only the manhood of 
Christ that suffered? If this be correct, it was after 
all but a finite atonement. Is it in teaching that 
Christ came as a voluntary sacrifice, yet was betrayed 
by one of his own people? Is it in condemning the 
^majority of mankind because they are fulfilling the 
decree of their God. Is it in beholding a God of love 
and kindness inflicting unnecessary torture upon his 
sensitive offspring? Is it in our being informed by 
the voice of Christ that by asking he could obtain any 
amount of assistance from God, while yet we find 
that his fervent supplications were unheeded and his 
dying prayers unanswered? Finally, is it in contem- 
plating the mercy of a God, who having placed Christ 
on a felon's cross, allows that the great and glorious 
Jesus to yield up a sorrowful life, after uttering un- 
availing reproaches in those memorable words, ''My 
God! my God! Why hast thou forsaken me?" 

Of what use has the Christian scheme of redemp- 
tion been to the human race? Has it abolished the 
supposed effects of Adam's fall? Has it improved the 
condition of the people? Have we less pain and 
misery, less folly and ignorance, less crime and in- 
justice through the advent of Christ? Are Christians 
more valiant and virtuous than were the ancient 
Romans? Has the erection of the Cross frightened 
the miscreant or appalled the tyrant? Has the voice 
from the height of Calvary reached the captive, and 
set the slave free? Has it destroyed error. and ce- 
mented truth? Has it dethroned wrong and estab- 
lished right? In short, has it abolished ignorance, 
crime and oppression, and made knowledge, virtue and 
justice permanent? Has it produced such conditions, 



208 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of society as render it impossible for man to be de- 
praved or poor? In the powerful words of the great 
Frenchman: (Over 1,900 years have passed, during 
which entire nations have knelt before a gibbet, ador- 
ing in the sufferer who gave himself up to death — the 
Savior of mankind. And yet what slavery still ! What 
lepers in our moral world ! What unfortunate beings 
in the visible and feeling world! What triumphant 
iniquity, what tyranny enjoying at its ease the scandal 
of its own impunity ! The Savior has come — whence 
comes salvation?" 

Once impress the minds of the people with the idea 
that this scheme of redemption is true, and they are 
then made ready recipients for a gloomy faith. If we 
lament the poverty and wretchedness we behold, we 
are told that God has pronounced that ''the poor shah 
never cease out of the land." If we seek to remove, 
the sorrow and despair existing around us, we are 
reminded that they were "appointed curses to the sons 
of Adam." If we work to improve our condition, we 
are taught that we should learn to be content, to re- 
main *'in that state of life in which it has pleased God 
to call us." When we endeavor to improve our minds, 
to cultivate our intellects, we come in contact with 
the statement, that "we are of ourselves unable to do 
any good thing." If we seek to promote the happiness of 
others, we are assured that faith in Christ is of more 
importance than labor for the benefit of the human 
race. Talk of redemption ! — what can redeem us from 
all this wrong, all this misappropriation, and all this 
folly? For over 1,900 years we had Christianity 
preached "Christ and him crucified" to a misguided 
and wronged world. We of the nineteenth century 



CHRISTIAN SCHEME OF REDEMPTION WORTHLESS. 209 

have but a vague idea of the extent of the influence 
this doctrine once exercised over the minds of its be- 
Hevers. Although this erroneous faith is now giving 
way, there are still thousands and myriads who, de- 
spite all its inconsistency and injustice, sincerely be- 
lieve that man's eternal happiness depends upon the 
belief in the efficacy of the blood said to have been 
shed on Mount Calvary. This is the doctrine which 
has so permeated the minds of orthodox Christians, 
stifling their reason and perverting their judgment, 
till they cherish the forlorn delusion that the reason- 
ings of philosophers, the enchantments of poets, and 
the struggles of patriots, are all worse than useless 
unless purified by the "atoning blood of the Lamb." 
It is against such delusions that we protest. It is 
this doctrine which fosters the erroneous and retard- 
ing belief, that every thought which does not aspire 
to the throne of Christ, every action which is not 
sanctioned by Christianism, ''scheme of salvation," 
every motive which does not proceed from a love to 
the ''Savior of the world," should be discouraged as 
antagonistic to our real progress in life. 

At this age of developed facts, truths and reasons, 
if any fanatical God-worshiper should assert that the 
blood of Christ or any human being does, would, or 
could atone for mythical sin, or any crime or offense 
against God or man, they should receive profound pity 
and be sent to the insane asylum. No such fools should 
be allowed to run at large advocating blood sacrifice. 



14 



CHAPTER 24. . 

ALL PRAYERS ARE A TOTAL FAILURE. 

How can the unchangeable be changed. Since the 
beginning of the Christian era there has been thou- 
sands of earthquakes and volcanoes, many of which 
were very destructive of human life by the sinking 
of the lands, falling of red-hot rocks and cinders, 
bursting of mountains, scattering their contents over 
large districts, the down-flowing of rivers of lava, and 
the tumbling houses, impaling the people under the 
flowing lava or falling walls, where the living hear 
their cries, pitiful moans and prayers as they are be- 
ing burned and tortured to death inch by inch. Mil- 
lions of as good people as ever walked the earth has 
been compelled to go through this detestable process 
to death, and still no God ever pitied their suffering 
or answered their prayers; and many other millions 
have been thrown into the seas, where no God ever 
answered their prayers, resulting in death and meat 
for sharks. The most remarkable earthquake was 
when Christ was crucified. The earth did quake. The 
rocks were rent. The temple was busted. The graves 
were .thrown open. The sleeping saints came out of 
the graves, and appeared to the people. No lives lost, 
damage slight, and the disciples of Christ hidden in 
the bullrushes near the Holy City. Where is thac 
God of love and tender mercy, even of falling spar- 
rows? 

210 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 211 

ALL PROMISES OF PRAYER ARE UNTRUTH- 
FUL. WERE ITS PROMISES TRUE, MAN- 
KIND WOULD BE OMNIPOTENT. 

All Things Whatsoever Ye Shall Ask in Prayer, Be- 
lieving, Ye Shall Receive," Says Matthew — 
Think What Would Happen if That Were Not 
the Greatest of Lies — Present and Past, Has 
There Been One Single Achievement Brought 
About by Prayer? 

I know of no sufficient reason why man should not 
acknowledge his religious convictions. The first duty 
we owe to ourselves and to the world is to be honest. 
But I know of no good reason why a person should 
profess a faith which his life contradicts. There is 
no necessity for a person to be a hypocrite. If a cer- 
tain class of people in a community openly profess 
and avow certain principles, and publicly preach them, 
and also assume that they are better men and women 
for believing such principles, then if they openly vio- 
late their professions, are they not justly liable to 
criticism if not censure? It is upon the ground of 
treachery to their principles that Christians are open 
to condemnation. When a man assumes the char- 
acter of an honest man, we do not like to find him as 
sHppery as a piece of wet soap ; and when he pro- 
fesses to love his brother man, we do not want to 
see him sell seven feet and a half of wood for a cord. 
We do not judge a man by what he professes ; we 
judge his professions by what he does. 

No pious performances has imposed more upon 
the world than praying. The praying man has been 
the good man, the religious man, the saintly man. If 
you have ever seen one of these praying men, you 



212 PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

have seen them all, for they are as similar as the 
faces on a sheet of postage stamps. They all have the 
same don't-you-see-how-pious-I-am look. But a 
prayer to-day does not pass for its face value, and 
the praying man is not trusted on account of his doc- 
trines. There is a feeling in the business world — 
which amounts to conviction — that when a man pos- 
sesses an offensive air of sanctity, it is best to keep 
an eye on him. When we hear of a defaulter to-day, 
we involuntarily ask. What church does he belong to? 
Does any one know why it is that so many of the em- 
bezzlers of the present time are prominent Christians 
in their respective communities? From the church 
to the jail is getting to be a well-trodden road in this 
age. 

Dishonest Belief. 

It has been justly observed that an honest disbe- 
lief of the Christian dogmas has not hurt the cause 
of religion so much as a dishonest belief. The Peck- 
sniffs, and not the Voltaires and Paines and Ingersolls, 
are the enemies of righteousness. Those men that 
are so ''utterly, utterly" pious, are generally hypo- 
crites. The experience of mankind bids us beware 
of the praying man. 

I am willing to believe the statement that sickness 
can be cured by prayer, when I see it done; but I 
am not willing that the simple and credulous should 
be imposed upon, and be the victims of a cruel super- 
stition which designing men have fostered for their 
own selfish purposes. 

This is the attitude of unbelievers towards prayer. 
We doubt its efficacy, and ask that it be demonstrated 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 213 

before we have faith in it. This is the only safeguard 
against imposition, and if prayer shrinks from a trial 
of its power, it confesses itself a fraud and a cheat. 
Men have the right to demand that, they who teach 
that blessings and benefits may be had by praying 
for them, shall show that they are telling the truth. 
It is a legitimate request that the pulpit exhibit the 
fruits of its prayers, or else stop its praying, for 
prayer is manifest hypocrisy unless it can get what 
it asks for. It is a foolish waste of time and breath 
to pray for things if they cannot be had in that way. 

The sudden fear that seized the church throughout 
Christendom when Professor Tyndall offered his 
prayer-guage to test the virtue of petitions to God 
for temporal gifts, proves that faith in prayer is only 
pretense. Were there any real ground for believing 
that prayers are answered, how ready would be the 
church to stand trial ! Not a Christian minister in the 
land but would lift up his voice to confound unbelief, 
did he know that he could get what he prayed for; 
but no one dares make the attempt. It is time that 
the superstition about prayer was met face to face, 
and compelled to prove its claim or confess its hy- 
pocrisy. Let a person who professes to believe that 
God stands ready to give to man whatsoever he shall 
ask for, come forward and pray before a public au- 
dience for some gift, and have the prayer answered 
within sight of all present. In this way only will the 
world be convinced that persons making such pro- 
fessions mean what they say. 

Does Anyone Really Believe It? . 

I do not believe that any words addressed to the 
name of God have power over a single square inch 



214 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of Nature, or that cause and effect in the material 
world can be directed by the pious wishes of mortals. 
In what part of the universe is to be found this God, 
who, we are told, watches over not only man's fall, 
but even the sparrow's fall? I ask this question in all 
seriousness. Does any man or woman on this earth 
candidly believe that there is an intelligent, watchful, 
loving power, apart from humanity, that knows our 
weaknesses, watches over our lives, and has power 
to save men from temptation, from danger, from 
death? 

Come out with me, and let us interrogate the 
scene around us. Ask the soil if it knows that a 
man is walking over it. Does the ground quiver 
with pain when we strike it with our foot? Does the 
rock moan when we break it asunder? Put your 
mouth to the earth and call the name of God, and 
see if you receive any response. Look into the 
heavens, and see if there be aught above you that 
can be named God. Call to the stars, and note if they 
show any sign that they hear you. Question the sun, 
the moon, the planets, if they know where this Divine 
God is. What part of earth or heaven has hand, eye, 
ear, or sense of feeling? From whence comes the ans- 
wer to human prayer, when man prays for help? 

If we fall into the sea and pray God to rescue us 
from drowning, will God do it? Do not dodge this 
question, but answer, yes or no ! If we by mistake 
swallow a fatal dose of poison and pray God to save 
our life, will God answer our prayer? Will you, who 
profess to believe that there is a God who will ans- 
v/er the prayers of men, try it and see? If we are in 
a burning building and there is no escape from the 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 215 

fire, will God save us from perishing in the flames if 
we pray to God for help? Does any one believe so? 
There is no necessity for our Christian manufacturers 
to provide fire-escapes for their buildings if God will 
answer prayer; no use for physicians, no reason why 
people need to drown, if prayer will save them. Do 
you know of one single human being who has been 
taken from the water or from the flames by the hand 
of God? 

. An Empty Bubble. 

Were you to put your faith in prayer, as the only 
power to preserve your life, your friends would very 
soon put you into the ground. Praying is the great- 
est folly of the nineteenth century. It is the offspring 
of superstition and ignorance. Praying for benefits 
is about as rational as a child crying for the moon. 
There is not a bone in the body of prayer, and not an 
eye in its head, not a finger in its hand, and not a 
particle of power in its expression. It is as empty 
as a soap-bubble. It goes from the mouth of man to 
the ear of man. It is sent to heaven, but falls on the 
earth. 

Let us look around us and see if we can discover 
anything that prayer has accomplished. Has it 
opened a street in a city or town on the globe? Has 
it put a bridge across a river, or laid a track over the 
mountains? Has it built a ship or sailed it over the 
seas? Is it to be trusted as a pilot on the water, as 
a guide on the land? Where are the tracks of its feet, 
the marks of its hands, the monuments of its labor? 
What has man got by prayer? Did he get his house 
or his furniture? Does he get his groceries or pro- 



216 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

visions, his wood and coal by praying for them? Did 
man ever get a thing by prayer that costs money? If 
so, then we have found the poor man's currency. But 
I would not advise anyone to depend upon praying 
for a business capital. 

Will prayer make the deformed man straight, the 
black man white, or the ignorant man wise? Will it 
make the dishonest man honest? If it will, then min- 
isters do well in saying, 'Xet us pray." But I believe 
that not a word has ever come out of the heavens 
above, and not a thing out of the earth beneath, in an- 
swer to prayer. Of course, my unbelief is met by the 
belief of others, that prayers are answered, but I will 
want to see the answers. I know that people will be- 
lieve anything. When you can find men and women 
who believe that St. John wrote his life of Jesus with 
a feather from the wing of an angel, the belief that a 
prayer to God for a barrel of flour was answered fades 
into utter insignificance in comparison. 

Why Doubt Anything? 

There never was a lie yet told that some one did 
not believe it. If we are to indorse one who believes 
that Balaam's beast was gifted with the power of hu- 
man speech, why are we not to indorse another who 
says that he had heard a steam-engine talk in the 
English language? We may as well swallow one 
Jonah as another. There are millions of people in 
our free land who profess to believe that the Bible 
was written under divine inspiration, but common 
sense sees in it only an ancient Morey letter. We 
cannot accept everybody's faith as reasonable, and I 
should not want to swap my belief for Cotton 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 217 

Mather's, even with the promise of heaven to boot. 

The creeds of other people are not worth as much 
to us as to them. They lose their value if circulated 
outside of their native place. They are like Mexican 
dollars in this country, that pass for only half their 
face. A very large discount must be made on faith 
in prayers. 

How have men obtained knowledge? By patient 
research and study, or by prayer? Did Humboldt have 
his splendid contributions to scientific knowledge de- 
livered to him in answer to prayer, or were they the 
result of labor? Did Darwin find out the "Origin of 
Species" by praying, or by observation and reflection? 
Did Spencer discover the law of evolution by repeat- 
ing a paternoster? 

A man might pray for knowledge from sunrise 
until sunset every day in the year, and every year of 
his life, and if he took no other means to acquire it, he 
would die a dunce. Knowledge does not come for 
the asking. One person is taught to work, to depend 
upon labor for whatever he gets in life, to use human 
means to benefit his race. Another is taught to pray, 
to depend upon prayer for whatever he gets in life, 
to use petitions to God to help mankind. The first 
person becomes a useful member of society; by his 
labor he gains independence, and in due time makes 
for himself a home, takes a wife, and rears a family 
of bright, healthy children, that gladden his heart 
and enrich society. He lends a helping hand to his 
less fortunate brother, gives words of cheer or coun- 
sel to those in distress, assistance to those in poverty, 
and sets an example of industry and virtue to the 
world. 



•218 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The Praying Member. 

The other becomes a useless member of society; 
lie is supported by the labor of others, and thus robs 
the hard-working men and women of the right to 
blessings which they have earned. He lives alone 
and contributes no benefit to society. He sets an 
example of idleness and sloth to the world, and of 
so little account is his life that it might be said of 
him when he dies, ''Earth is no poorer and heaven no 
richer for his departure." Work would make a gar- 
den of the earth, when prayer would make it a ceme- 
tery. 

Nine-tenths of all the foolishness of human faith 
roots in the belief that the Bible was written by God, 
and that it is to be believed as we believe the truth. 
Drive out of the mind the faith that this book is the 
word of God, and civilization would leap, forward a 
thousand years. This faith has made men and women 
nearly everything that is bad, and scarcely anything 
that is good. It has instigated people to commit al- 
most every crime. The belief that the Bible is holy, 
has caused the death of more human beings than there 
are words in the book. 

The faith in praying is a Bible product. On its 
promise are prayers made. But men to-day are be- 
ginning to ask with Job, ''What profit should we have 
if we pray unto the Almighty?" What good does it 
do? is the common-sense objection to prayer. We 
cannot get a breakfast or a supper by praying for it. 
We cannot make the elm bear apples, or the bushes 
yield bread, by prayer. Vv^e cannot protect our homes 
from misfortune nor drive away suffering and want by 
praying. 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 219 

The Bible on Prayer. 

When we express a doubt in regard to the virtue 
of prayer, and ask to see the person who has had his 
prayers answered, some man or woman wishes to 
know if we do not believe what the Bible says. We 
answer: "We do not! Nor do we believe there is a 
human being on the globe who does believe what it 
says !" 

We read in the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, 
''All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, be- 
lieving, ye shall receive." Do you tell me that there 
is a man or woman lives who believes such a state- 
ment as that? If so, and that verse holds the truth 
in the clasp of its words, then every person that can 
sound their wish in the ear of heaven is master of 
the universe, and God (if there be a God) but the 
servant of their desires ! That verse, if true, makes 
man a God, and gives him power to change earth to 
heaven in the twinkling of a star. 

But what a lie it is ! Were that declaration true, 
there should not be a pang on earth to-night. Not a 
cry of want should be heard. Not a tear of grief or 
shame should fall. The feast of plenty should load 
the board of famine ; and misery and despair, these 
gaunt and grim spectres of human wrongs and crimes, 
should be changed to joy and blessedness. But it is 
useless to paint the canvas of human life with Bible 
colors. They will not wash. If any man thinks that 
he has an Aladdin's lamp in this verse of the twenty- 
first chapter of Matthew, let him put his faith to a 
trial. 

Remembering the promise that "all things what- 
soever ye shall ask in prayer, ye shall receive," let 



220 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

him trust to praying for something to eat and drink 
and let him undertake to go without food until God 
sets the table for his appetite, and rings the bell for 
supper. Before he got a mouthful, his period of fast- 
ing would throw that of Dr. Tanner into the shade. 

To trust to God to feed us, is a sure road to starva- 
tion. Christians who profess to believe in the Bible 
as God's word do not seem to have much faith in 
the notion that there is a divine restaurant to which 
prayer is the key, but follows infidels and unbelievers, 
and go to eating-houses where men and women do 
the cooking, knowing that money will purchase a bet- 
ter dinner than a prayer. 

Prayer Clothes Nobody. 

How much faith have men and women in prayers 
to clothe them? We have not heard of any silk or 
velvet, woven by the power of prayer, being on ex- 
hibition at our industrial fairs, nor have we seen any 
clergymen dressed in broadcloth that came from the 
looms of heaven. It is evident that Christian men and 
women prefer to have tailors and dressmakers, rather 
than trust to a Bible promise that God will clothe 
them. 

Prayer, when asked to do a thing for humanity that 
must be done to keep life in th'e body, is obliged to 
be excused. We read in the Bible, ''Is any sick among 
you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and 
let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in 
the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall 
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him." The 
language here used is sufficiently clear to admit of 
no doubt as to its meaning; but does any intelligent 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 221 

person believe that prayer will arrest the ravages of 
disease? — that a sick person can be cured by a num- 
ber of words spoken over their body? It seems to me 
that we are forced to question the honesty of men 
or to doubt their intelligence, when they profess to 
believe that disease can be charmed away by praying 
over it. 

I have never heard of a college in this country, 
however orthodox it may be, that has bestowed the 
degree of M. D. upon prayer, or showed by any act 
that it believed that praying possessed the power of 
healing. Does the persons who pretend to believe 
that the Bible is God's word of truth, send for the 
elders of the church when a member of their family 
is attacked with pneumonia or typhoid fever, as he is 
there enjoined to do? The question needs no answer. 
The passage which we have quoted stands for a faith 
that has passed away. 

Disregard of Professions of Faith. 

It is plain that Christians have more faith in a 
skillful physician than in the elders of their church, in 
time of sickness, notwithstanding the divine injunc- 
tion to call in the latter, and the assurance that their 
prayers will prove effectual in the treatment of disea- 
ses. We have no particular desire to see the Chris- 
tian ranks decimated, and we wish to be acquitted of 
any malicious thought or feeling, when we say we 
candidly think that if Christians were required to 
stand manfully to their faith, and in time of sickness 
trust their safety to the virtue of prayer, no surer 
method could be adopted for getting rid of the entire 
lot. It would be inhuman to hold Christians to their 



222 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

professions, and we would be the very last to insist 
that they should be doctored with prayers. We only 
wish to point out the utter disregard for their profes- 
sions manifested by Christians ; and let me tell them 
that the world is beginning to see, not only their in- 
consistency, but the practical dishonesty v/hich is 
involved in their pious pretensions. 

While I am not desirous of having the Christian 
men and women of the United States suffer the folly 
of their faith, I am quite willing that they should be 
made to demonstrate their foolishness in believing 
that prayers are answered. If they are honest in 
their faith they will renounce it, if, after an impartial 
trial, they find that they are deceiving themselves by 
their faith. 

Suppose we have a company of respectable church 
members, who pretend to believe the promise of God, 
that "whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, ye shall re- 
ceive," seat themselves around an empty table, and re- 
peat in concert these words : 

Now we sit us down to eat, 
We pray the Lord to give us meat; 
If we should pray for food in vain, 
We ne'er will trust in prayer again — 

would they be honest enough to abide the result of 
their experiment, or would they keep on making their 
pious professions when they know that praying has 
no more effect upon the power that rules the world 
than has whistling? They know, every one of them, 
that they would not be willing to submit to the test 
here proposed. 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 223 

The Answer to Prayer is Silence. 

The excuse for the foolish faith in prayer of most 
people is that the Bible teaches this faith, and there- 
fore it must be true. We are told that the Bible says, 
''Ask and ye shall receive." We say, "Ask, and see 
if ye shall receive." The only answer yet made to a 
prayer to God was silence. 

Of the words in the Bible upon which men and 
women rest their belief in prayer, we can only say 
it was base to speak such words, baser still to write 
and print them ; but the blackest guilt of all is to teacli 
them as God's promise to people. The history of faith 
in these words for the last eighteen hundred years 
is a history of broken promises. 

Notwithstanding the fact that we are living in an 
age of science, facts, truths and reasons, the super- 
stitious faith in prayer still deforms religion, and peo- 
ple pray to gods, to ghosts, to saints, and to idols ; but 
what a silly, foolish performance it is when looked 
at seriously! Think of a minister praying God to 
kill grasshoppers, as was done in the West a few 
years ago ! Imagine God trying to kill all the grass- 
hoppers in the states of Missouri, Iowa and Minne- 
sota ! A year or two later these same ministers, or 
others like them, tried to induce the God to undertake 
a crusade against the Colorado beetles ! But we never 
read that the God enlisted in the undertaking. May 
probably had previous engagements. But imagine 
God on the trail of a potato-bug ! If an Infidel lecturer 
were to pray God to abolish mosquitoes, every Chris- 
tian preacher in the land would declare that he was 
trying to ridicule the power of God. But if it is a 



224 PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS, 

pious task to set God on to grasshoppers and potato- 
bugs, why is it impious to ask to put an end to mos- 
quitoes? 

Praying for Wisdom. 

Every time we have a drouth the pulpit prays for 
rain, and when we have a flood it prays for dry 
weather, and we presume that men who have prayed 
for rain every day for three weeks actually believe 
their prayers did the business, when at the end of 
that time a shower drenched the earth. O religion, 
how many foolish things are done in thy name ! A 
good many years ago we heard a minister pray, and 
in the course of .his remarks to the God, he took the 
liberty to suggest that a larger measure of wisdom 
would not be hurtful to the congregation. We agreed 
with him, but Christian ministers have been asking 
God to give their people wisdom for a long while, 
and we have never seen any sign that God has heard 
their prayers. 

There is nothing more calculated to profane all 
that is sacred to humankind than to cheapen the feel- 
ings and emotions which we hold dear, than the Chris- 
tian notion that the secret wish of the heart, the hid- 
den desire is to be dragged before an audience for 
the entertainment of the curious and vulgar. There 
are no words great enough or pure enough for 
the heart's desire. We all have longings for help 
which earth cannot give, for light which the sun can- 
not shed, for love which the living cannot feel, but 
to voice these longings would soil them. 

You ask me, would you not like to have things 
different in the world? There are hundreds of things 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 225 

which good men and pure women would rejoice to 
see in human life. There are reforms and improve- 
ments that would elevate society which all right- 
minded persons wish made, but such things will not 
come for the asking. We wish to see the ignorant en- 
lightened, the foolish made wise, the down-trodden 
lifted up, the fallen restored to honor, the wrong- 
doer converted to right-doing, the bad made good, 
and the good better; but we know that no amount of 
wishing will bring these blessings. Praying will not 
reform the world, or there would not be a vice or 
wrong in it twenty-four hours. Mere desire for the 
good produces no good result. A great many seem 
to think that if they lie down with a good resolution 
they will get up covered with the glory of heroic ac- 
tion. If prayers were the only weapons wielded 
against the wrongs of society, not one would be cor- 
rected. If prayer were the only influence, not one influ- 
ence used to keep our homes pure and sweet for human 
life, not one of them would be fit for man or woman to 
live in. If prayer were the only power employed to 
reform mankind, not a single stain of vice would be 
washed out. 

A Sad Sight. 

One of the silliest things that fathers and mothers 
do is to teach their children to pray. Bring up the 
young to tell the truth, to be honest in word and deed ; 
to be kind to their fellows; to be fearless and brave 
for the right; to know and obey the laws of body and 
mind and earth will be covered with noble men and 
women. It is thought by some a beautiful sight to 
see a little, innocent child kneeling with clasped hands 

15 



226 FACTS TRUTHS AND REASONS 

in the attitude of prayer; but it is a sad sight to those 
who know that a human mind is being enslaved to a 
superstition ; that a human heart is being filled vith 
fear; that a human soul is being made the victim of 
deception. 

No matter who makes a prayer; no matter where 
it is made, or when, or how; it is foolish. Children 
should never be taught to pray. Men and women 
should know better than to do so. The mind that is 
busy with thoughts and plans for the world's improve- 
ment, is the abode of the best angels that ever blessed 
man with their ministrations, and no prayer is needed 
to bring these guests to our earthly homes, but a true 
love for facts, truths and reasons, and manly love for 
mankind, and a right love of righteousness is the 
ways of Intelligence (God). 

It is useless to disguise the fact, or deny the truth. 
There is a lot of hypocrisy in the piety of the church. 
Men are not always what they profess to be. There 
are pious frauds in every community; men who are 
saints on their knees, but knaves on their feet. Be- 
hind a pious face they hide a villain heart. They will 
believe any doctrine that has a dollar in it. These 
frauds are always men of prayer. They are ready to 
pray anywhere where they can be heard, and have an 
opportunity to advertise their piety. These men use 
prayer as a sort of theological weapon, a kind of re- 
ligious pocket-pistol. It is fired off at Infidels, but it 
contains only a blank cartridge. 

Character Superior to Professions. 

Religion is not what drops from the lips, but what 
grows around the life. It is not shown by going to 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 227 

church, but by character and conduct; not in prayers, 
but in deeds. 

I do not like to hear him pray 

On bended knee about an hour, 
For grace to spend aright the day 

Who knows his neighbor has no flour; 
I'd rather see him go to mill, 

And buy his luckless brother bread, 
And see his children eat their fill, 

And laugh beneath their humble shed. 

I do not like to hear him pray, 

"Let blessings on the widow be;" 
Who never seeks her home to say, 

*'If want overtakes you come to me." 
I hate the prayer so long and loud 

That's offered for the orphan's weal, 
By him who sees him crushed by wrong. 

And only with his lips doth feel. ' ' 

I do not like to hear him pray, 

With jeweled ear and silken dress. 
Whose washer-woman toils all day. 

And then is asked to work for less. 
Such pious shavers I despise ! 

With folded hands and grace demure, 
They lift to heaven their pious eyes. 

Then steal the earnings of the poor. 

Christians have had their own way in religious 
matters so long that they have come to look upon 
all ideas that are antagonistic to their petrified dogmas 
as deserving only condemnation, and upon all per- 
sons who refuse to wear a Christian collar and chain, 
and be led around the world by a priest or minister, 
as meriting the church's wrath here and God's wrath 
hereafter. The Christian has enjoyed hearing the 



228 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Liberal damned for nineteen centuries, but because 
the Liberal has hinted now and then during the past 
few years, that if any one merits such a fate, it is not 
himself, the Christian feels hurt, and says that Lib- 
erals do nothing but preach against Christianity. 

It is hard to be condemned, if you are a Christian ; 
but it is all right if you are a Liberal. It is hard to 
hear one's faith criticized and ridiculed, if you are a 
Christian, but it makes no difference if you are a 
Radical. It is unkind to speak with want of rever- 
ence for certain men, if they are Christians, but it is 
fair enough if they are Freethinkers. The Liberal, if he 
will not go and hear himself and all who believe as he 
does, damned for their faith, is setting a bad example. 
The Christian who is afraid to go and hear the religion 
of humanity preached is adorned with all the virtues. 
If a man who does not belong to church, or subscribe 
towards the support of Christian worship, is unfortu- 
nate enough to 3aeld to the over-mastering influence of 
temptation, the pulpit assures us that his Infidelity is 
the cause of his moral delinquency ; but if anOrthodox 
or Baptist church member is caught in his career of 
stealing which has been carried on for years, we are 
informed that Brother Blank was tempted by the 
devil, and so we are expected to sympathize with our 
poor brother — for being caught — and help whitewash 
him again. A man may steal, and be a Christian still. 

There are some people in this world who have not 
had all their common sense preached out of them, 
and these people think that it is just as bad for a man 
in the church to defraud his neighbor, as for a man 
out of the church, and do not believe that one should 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 229 

be sent to prison for his act, and the other to heaven. 
Christian ministers say — 

Open your mouth and shut your eyes, 

And God will give you something to make you wise. 

but human experience says — 

Shut your mouth and open your eyes, 

And you shall find what will make you wise. 

The people are learning that humanity depends upon 
industry, and that no words, however loaded with 
thanksgiving and praise, can be substituted for work. 
There is no God who stands ready like a telegraph 
messenger to run on errands for human beings, and 
no divine power which can be drawn on infinitely to 
supply the wants of mankind. The sooner we get 
down to a common-sense understanding of man's re- 
lation to the universe, the better it v(i\\ be for the 
world. 

No man gets anything in this life, except by work- 
ing for it, unless he steal it. There is no open hand 
in the skies for one, and no closed hand in the earth 
for another. Nature is not generous to the Christian 
and mean to the unbeliever. The man who believes in 
miracles gets just as wet when it rains as the man 
Avho denies all miraculous events, and he who has 
faith in prayer enjoys no immunity from human ills 
that is not shared by him who lacks this faith. 

What Advantage Has Belief? 

If the Christian faith offers mankind any blessings 
which it alone can bestow, we are anxious to know 
what they consist of. Is the man who professes this 
faith any more perfect physically than the man who 
denies it? Is every male Christian an Apollo, and 



230 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

every female Christian a Venus ? Does the believer in 
the trinity have "features perfect every one, and the 
disbeliever in the trinity have features deformed every 
one?" Do those who believe the Bible to be divine 
escape sickness any more than those who believe it 
to be human? Do Christians never have toothache, 
headache, or backache; and do Infidels alone suffer 
the aches and pains of life? 

Is the man who professes the Christian faith an}' 
more perfect morally than the man who denies it? 
Are all the followers of Jesus made after the model of 
the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the 
Mount? And are all of those who do not follow Jesus 
murderers, thieves, defaulters, liars and perjurers? 
How are we to know a Christian when we meet one? 
Does he pay more than one hundred cents for a dol- 
lar, give more than sixteen ounces for a pound, or 
thirty-six inches for a yard? Six days shalt thou 
labor to find a Christian, and then shalt not discover a 
single one ; but on the seventh day the Christian may 
be found — in a church. 

There is no difference physically, mentally, mor- 
ally, or any other way, between Christians and unbe- 
lievers, save one, and that is difference of opinion in 
regard to the character and worth of the Hebrew and 
Greek scriptures known as the Old and New Testa- 
ments ; and we think the difference is largely in favor 
of the unbeliever. 

A Discarded Apparatus. 

I desire to call the attention of the Christians to 
a certain closet spoken of in the New Testament. 



ALL PRAYERS TO GOD A TOTAL FAILURE. 231 

This closet is not as showy as some of our modern 
churches and cathedrals, and would not draw large 
crowds of people to look at it. It is a small, plain 
structure, large enough for only one person. Were 
it found in the store of a second-hand furniture dealer, 
it would probably be bought for about thirty-seven 
cents. Fashionable Christians would go to look at 
it as a curiosity, if it was on exhibition at some char- 
itable fair; but not one of them would have such a 
looking thing in their house. I actually believe that 
if this closet were given to the most devout Christian 
in Boston, within twenty-four hours it would be split 
up for kindling-wood. 

A man called Jesus refers to this closet in a sermon 
that was reported by one Matthew, who was the au- 
thor of a portion of the New Testament. It appears 
that in the days when this man Jesus lived, ministers 
were in the habit of standing in the churches and 
praying where they could be seen of men. Jesus ex- 
pressed his opinion that men who prayed in this man- 
ner were hypocrites. While we do not accept all that 
this man said in his sermon, there is much in the dis- 
course which we can commend, especially his ideas 
of praying in public. We quote from this sermon 
(which by the way, Christians ought to read) : 

"When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypo- 
crites are, for they love to pray standing in the syna- 
gogues and in the corners of the streets that they may 
he seen of men. 

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy 
closet, and when thou hast shut thy door pray to thy 
father which is in secret." 



232 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Christians Advised to Read the Bible. 

I would say, for the benefit of Christians, inasmuch 
as they profess great veneration for this man Jesus, 
that his words may be found in a vokime known as the 
Bible, in what is called the Gospel of Matthew. I 
would advise every Christian man and woman, and 
more particularly every Christian minister, to get 
this volume and read the Sermon on the Mount. I 
really think if Christians would read the Bible that 
they would not be so bigoted and superstitious as 
they are now. 

I have always found that the less a person knew 
about the Bible, the more orthodox he was ; and I give 
you my honest opinion that if people would read this 
book with their brains, instead of their prejudices, 
they would be ashamed to think that they ever re- 
garded it with reverence. 

This closet spoken of by Jesus has not been used 
for nineteen hundred years. It has stood empty all 
this time, and is, as a matter of course, in rather a 
dilapidated condition. When we take into consid- 
eration the fact that there are thousands of persons in 
the United States who openly profess their rever- 
ence for this man Jesus, is it not astonishing that not 
one of them knows that he ever spoke of this closet? 
And when there are more than a hundred ministers 
who claim to be preaching the religion of Jesus, is it 
not amazing that not a single one ever read his words 
about standing in the churches to pray where they 
could be seen of men? Have Christians been trying 
to mislead the world in regard to their respect for the 
New Testament hero? Or do they not know that they 



PRAYERS TO GOD ARE NEVER ANSWERED. 233 

are hypocrites, and that it was such as they that Jesus 
condemned for their pious hypocrisy? 

We would suggest to Christians that they repair 
this closet that their Lord and Master spoke of; that 
they stop up the cracks, hang the door, and put a 
button on it, paint it up, and then — use it! Let them 
know that it is just as hypocritical to stand in a church 
and pray in this century, as it was in the time of 
Jesus, and that if a man must pray, it is more modest 
to go into a closet than into a pulpit to make known 
his wishes. 

CHAPTER 25. 

WHAT GOD DECREES MUST STAND. 

If God Has Decreed That a Thing Shall Happen, Then 
It Must and Will Happen, Prayer or No Prayer : 
First, Because God Has Ordained It ; and Second, 
Because God's Decrees Are Unalterable — "I Am 
God; I Change Not" — Irreconcilable Conflict of 
Theories. 

Prayer is said to be "an offering of our desires 
to God for things agreeable to God's will." We are 
required to approach God with reverential awe, and 
to "humble ourselves in the dust" when we "address 
the throne of grace" for the purpose of telling this 
omniscient God all the naughty things we have ever 
done; then slobber him all over with fulsome flattery 
by telling him how good, and great, and pure, and 
holy, and loving, and kind, and thoughtful, and con- 
siderate God is; then, while in this cringing, dust- 
humbled attitude, plead with him to look "down" on 
us with pitying eye and forgive all our shortcomings, 
and then, when we think we have "jollied" God into 



234 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

an amiable mood, present our little petition, and ask 
God, "for Christ's sake," to grant it, "if it be in ac- 
cordance with God's holy will." We are then sup- 
posed to climb slowly to our feet, and, in reverential 
mood and with solemn visage, "feel" that God will 
consider our petition favorably, and, "in God's own 
good time," will grant it. We then keep on the 
sharp lookout for something to happen that could, 
by some trick of Christian hocus-pocus, be tortured 
and twisted into an answer of our prayer, and if it 
happens, then we jump up on the fence, and flap our 
embryonic wings and crow and shout, "I told you so." 
But if nothing happens that could be construed into 
an answer to our prayer, then it was not God's will 
that we should have it. 

Is there any difference between an inference and 
a fact? One would suppose, to hear Christians talk, 
that there is not — that they are synonymous terms. 
They will take an inference and hold it up to public 
gaze and exhibit it as a fact, and expatiate on the 
beauties and importance of that inference while em- 
phasizing it as an incontestable truth. A fact is a 
truth that is or can be proven by a recognized process 
of logical reasoning, and that is the way we know it 
to be a fact. An inference may be true, but it can not 
be known and accepted as a fact while it remains an 
unproven inference. There is not a solitary scriptural 
tenet to which the Christian can point and say of it, 
"I knew it to be true" — not one. 

The God before whom we are required to hum- 
ble ourselves in the dust, we are told, is omnipotent, 
omniscient, and unchangeable — a God who not only 
sees and knows all our needs, but who knows our 



PRAYERS TO GOD ARE NEVER ANSWERED. 235 

thoughts and desires better than we know them our- 
selves ; a good, kind, loving, and parental God. Now, 
if God is a good God, a kind, loving and paternal God, 
who knows our needs better than we can know them, 
and who has the power to minister to our necessities 
with a word, isn't it reasonable to suppose that he 
would voluntarily, and of God's own free will, provide 
for those necessities, and not oblige us to humble 
ourselves in the dust and, in the humiliating attitude 
of a cringing slave, plead with him for those neces- 
sities which it is God's duty to provide, he having 
created and placed us here in such a helpless and de- 
pendent condition that we cannot live without the 
blessings which God alone controls and alone has the 
power to bestow? If your child was in the same help- 
less condition that Christians tell us we are in, and 
if that child was as dependent on you, not only for 
the necessities of life, but for life itself, as we are 
told we are dependent on God for life and the neces- 
sities of life, would you wait until he asked you for 
those necessities before you would provide them, and 
then would you make the bestowal of those necessities 
conditional on his humbling himself in the dust before 
you, and pleading with you and lying to you by calling 
himself a vile, sinful wretch, and pleading, not his 
own merits or necessities, but the goodness, and great 
ness, and glory of his father, and then condescend to 
bestow them if it happened to be in accordance witli 
your will that he should have them? If he needs them 
and is helpless to provide them himself, shouldn't it 
be the will of any good being that he should have 
them, and, if he had the power, bestow them? Are 
not his necessities of greater moment, both to him and 



236 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

to you, than your arbitrary will, especially since you 
are responsible both for his being and his helpless 
condition? Is it reasonable to suppose that God 
would make us such helpless creatures, so dependent 
on God's bounty for the necessities of a helpless life, 
and then refuse to provide us with the necessities 
which God, in making us, has made us so impotent and 
helpless as to be unable to provide for ourselves until 
we would agree to acknowledge God's despotic power 
and our own abasement by crawling in the dust, as 
a conquered- dog crawls and cowers at his master's 
feet, and implore God to have mercy on us? Would 
you require your helpless child to so debase himself 
before you? And if he obeyed you, could you look 
with a paternal pride on that child for whose being 
and condition you are responsible, the work of your 
own hands? If not, then are you better than your 
God? Again: We are informed that God is an un- 
changeable God — ''I am God; I change not." Also, 
rhat God has foreordained whatsoever cometh to pass. 
If God is an unchangeable God, then why pray to him? 
If he is unchangeable, nothing that we can say or do, 
however much we may humble ourselves, will cause 
God to change God's mind, and if he has foreordained 
whatsoever comes to pass, then whatever happens 
must happen. If God has decreed that a thing shall 
happen, then it must and will happen, prayer or no 
prayer, for two reasons : First, because God has fore- 
ordained that it should happen, and God is unchange- 
able, and, secondly, it must happen in order to verify 
and establish God's foreknowledge that it would hap- 
pen (foreknowledge and foreordination being synony- 
mous terms as to results). It it did not happen, God. 



PRAYERS TO GOD ARE NEVER ANSWERED. 237 

could not have foreknown that it would happen. Fore- 
knowledge and foreordination are two prominent ten- 
ets of the Bible. If these doctrines be true, then all 
who are damned to eternal torments in hell are 
damned because God has foreordained that they 
should be damned, and nothing, not even the promise 
of God, can save them. So, likewise, those who are 
saved in heaven cannot escape salvation, let them do 
what they will, for God has foreordained that they 
should be saved, and God is unchangeable. In view 
of all this, I see no necessity in man making any 
effort either to secure heaven or to escape hell. If 
these doctrines be true, God has nothing to do with 
determining the human race's final destiny. That mat- 
ter was settled by God "in the beginning," and it 
doesn't make any difference what he does or how he 
lives ; he will be either saved or damned anyhow, for 
his destiny has been decreed ''from the beginning" by 
the unalterable decree of an unchangeable God. 

Now, in order to convince me that anything has 
happened in answer to prayer, it will be necessary to 
prove that the occurrence, whatever it may have be^n, 
would not have taken place exactly where, and when, 
and in the manner it did take place, if no prayer had 
been offered. 

To me, under the most favorable circumstances, 
praying to an omnipotent, omniscient, and unchange- 
able God seems to be about the limit of driveling 
idiocy. 



CHAPTER 26. 
THE ALL- WISE BIRD OF LIBERTY. 




Hoiy 

j^nd He 
said, Thou 
canst not see 
My face: for 
there shall 
no man see 
Me and live. 

(Ex. xxxiii, 20) 



BIBLE 

For I 

have seen 
God face 
to face 
and my 
Life is 
Preserved. 

(Gen. xxxii, 30) 




THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, M. D., 
Age 50 Years; Chest Measurement 44 Inches 



SELF CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 239 

Here we see this all-wise Bird of Liberty, and c 
free and untrameled press of Facts, Truths and Rea- 
sons, The Great Moral Way, looking down with su- 
preme contempt for the so-called Hebrew and Christian 
Bible, filled with the most fragrant, detestable absurdi- 
ties, vulgarities, lustful debauchery, filthy prostitution 
indecency, and, with all its other faults, is a mass of the 
self-contradictions, of which I first give some of the 
most potent, then give, en masse, the whole 144 
propositions, each proved affirmatively and negatively 
by quotations from the Bible, embodying the most pal- 
pable and striking self-contradictions of the so-called 
inspired word of the Hebrew and Christian man God. 
All can read and construe for themselves. 

"Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord walk- 
ing in the Garden in the cool of the day." (Gen. 3:8.) 
Jacob says : "For I have seen God face to face." (Gen. 
32: 30.) Moses and seventy-three other men of Israel 
saw the Lord of Israel, and what he stood on under 
his feet, and as it were, the body of heaven in God's 
clearness, and they also saw God. (Ex. 24: Q-IL) 
"And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a 
man speaketh to a friend." (Ex. 33: IL) The Lord 
shows his back parts to Moses. (Ex. 33 : 22, 23) ; 
which are positively contradicted in the scriptures. 
"And he (God) said, thou canst not see my face, for 
there shall no man see me and live." (Ex. 33: 20.) 
"And I will take away my hand and thou shalt see 
my back parts ; but my face shall not be seen." (Ex. 
33 : 23.) "No man has seen God at any time." (John 
1 : 18.) The apostle Paul says : "The King of Kings 



240 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

and Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality, dwell- 
ing in light which no man can approach unto; whom 
no man hath, nor can,- see." (1 Tim. 6: 15, 16.) "Ye 
hath neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen hib 
shape." (John 5: 37.) ''The Creator fainteth not, 
neither is weary." (Isaiah 40: 28.) "He rested and 
was refreshed." (Ex. 31 : 17.) "The eyes of the Lord 
are in every place." (Rev. 15: 3.) "But the Lord 
came down to see the city.' (Gen. 15: 5.) "God is 
not man that he should repent." (Num. 23 : 19.) "I am 
weary of repenting." (Jer. 15: 6.) "Israel's God re- 
pented of the evil." (Jonah 3 : 10.) "His anger en- 
dureth but for a moment." (Paul 30: 5.) "For ye 
have kindled a fire in my anger that will burn for- 
ever." (Jas. 17:4.) "God could not be tempted with 
evil, neither tempteth he any man." (Jas. 1 : 13.) 
"God did tempt Abraham." (Gen. 22: 1.) "Im- 
possible for God to lie." (Heb. 6: 18.) "The Lord 
has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these proph- 
ets." (Kings, 22: 23.) "Lord is very pitiful and of 
tender mercy." (Jas. 5: 11.) "I will not have pity, 
nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them." (Jer. 
13: 14.) "God made darkness his secret place." (Pr. 
97: 2.) "God dwelling in light which no man can ap- 
proach." (Apostle Paul in 1 Tim. 6: 15, 16.) Only 
fools accept the man God of the scriptures as the 
God of the eternal infinitude. All human reason shows 
that there is but one God, and that God is the eternal, 
unlimited, unchangeable Intelligence. 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 241 

SELF-CONTRADICTIONS OF THE BIBLE. 

THEOLOGICAL DOCTRINES. 

I. 

God Is Satisfied With His Works. 

And God saw everything that he had made, and 
behold it was very good. (Gen. 1 : 3L) 

God Is Dissatisfied With His Works. 

And it repented the Lord that he had made man 
on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Gen. 
6:6.) 

II. 

God Dwells in Chosen Temples. 

And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and 
said unto him : I have heard thy prayer, and have 
chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. 
. . . For now have I chosen and sanctified this 
house that my name may be there forever; and mine 
eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. (2 Chr. 
7: 12, 16.) 

God Dwells Not in Temples. 

Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples 
made with hands. (Acts 7: 48.) 

III. 

God Dwells in Light. 

Dwelling in the light which no man can approach 
unto. (1 Tim. 6: 16.) 

16 



242 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

God Dwells in Darkness. 

The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick 

darkness. (1 Kings 8: 12.) 

He made darkness his secret place. (Ps. 17: 11.) 
Clouds and darkness are round about him. (Ps. 

97:2.) 

IV. 

God Is Seen and Heard. 

And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see 
my back parts. (Ex. 33: 23.) 

And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face,- as 
a man speaketh unto a friend. (Ex. 33 : 11.) 

And the Lord called unto Adam, and said unto 
him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice 
in the garden, and I was afraid. (Gen. 3: 9, 10.) 

For I have seen God face to face, and my life is 
preseryed. (Gen. 32: 30.) 

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw, also, the 
Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. (Is. 
6: 1.) 

Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, 
and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the 
God of Israel. . . . They saw God, and did eat 
and drink. (Ex. 24: 9-11.) 

God is Invisible and Cannot be Heard. 

No man hath seen God at any time. (John 1, 18.) 
Ye hath neither heard his voice, at any time, nor 
seen his shape. (John 5 : 37.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 243 

And he said, thou canst not see my face; for there 
shall no man see me and live. (Ex. 33: 20.) 

Whom no man hath seen nor can see. (1 Tim. 
6: 16.) 

V. 

God is Tired and Rests. 

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 
.(Ex.31: 17.) 

I am weary with repenting. (Jer. 15 : 6.) 
Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. (Is. 
43:24.) 

God is Never Tired and Never Rests. 

Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the 
Lord, the Creator of the ends of the Earth, fainteth 
not, neither is weary? (Is. 40: 28.) 

God is Omnipresent, Sees and Knows All Things. 

The eyes of the Lord. are in every place. (Prov. 
15:3.) 

Whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I as- 
cend up into heaven, thou art there ; if I make my bed 
in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of 
the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the 
sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right 
hand shall hold me. (Ps. 139: 7-10.) 

There is no darkness nor shadow of death where 
the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For his 
eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his 
goings. (Job 34: 21, 22.) 



244 PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

God is Not Omnipresent, Neither Sees nor Knows 
All Things. 

And the Lord came down to see the city and the 
tower. (Gen. 11: 5.) 

And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and 
Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very griev- 
ous, I will go down now and see whether they have 
done altogether according to the cry of it, which is 
come unto me; and, if not, I will know. (Gen. 18: 
20, 21.) 

And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the 
presence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the 
garden. (Gen. 3 : 8.) 

VIL 

God Knows the Hearts of Men. 

Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men. 
(Acts 1 : 24.) 

Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-ris- 
ing; thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Thou 
compassest my path and my lying down, and art ac- 
quainted with all my ways. (Ps. 134: 2, 3.) 

For he' knoweth the secrets of the heart. (Ps. 
44:21.) 

God Tries Men to Find Out What is in Their Hearts. 

The Lord, your God, proveth you, to know whether 
ye love the Lord your God, with all your heart and 
with all your soul. (Deut. 8: 3.) 

The Lord thy God led thee these forty years in 
the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to 
know what was in thy heart. (Deut. 8:2.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 245 

For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou 
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. 
(Gen. 22: 12.) 

VIII. 

God is All-Powerful. 

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh ; is 
there anything too hard for me? . . . There is 
nothing too hard for thee. (Jer. 32 : 17, 27.) 

With God all things are possible. (Mat. 19: 26.) 

God is Not All-Powerful. 

And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out 
the inhabitants of the mountain ; but could not drive 
out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had 
chariots of iron. (Judges 1 : 19.) 

IX. 

God is Unchangeable. 

With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of 
turning. (James 1 : 17.) 

For I am the Lord ; I change not. (Mai. 3 : 6.) 

I, the Lord, have spoken it; it shall come to pass, 
and I will do it. I will not go back, neither will I 
spare, neither will I repent. (Ezekiel 24: 14.) 

God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son 
of man that he should repent. (Num. 23 : 19.) 

God is Changeable. 

And it repented the Lord that he had made man 
on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Gen, 
'6: 6.) 



246 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

And God saw their works, and they turned from 
their evil way; and God repented of the evil that he 
had said that he would do unto them, and he did it not. 
(Jonah 3 : 10.) 

Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said, 
indeed, that thy house, and the house of thy father, 
should walk before me forever; but now the Lord 
saith, Be it far from me. . . . Behold, the days 
come that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy 
father's house. (1 Sam. 2: 3L 32.) 

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And 
the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to him, 
and said unto him. Thus saith the Lord, Set thy house 
in order ; for thou shalt die, and not live. . . . And 
it came to pass before Isaiah was gone out into the 
middle court, that the word of the Lord came unto 
him, saying. Turn again and tell Hezekiah, the cap- 
tain of my people. Thus saith the Lord, ... I 
have heard thy prayer, . . . and I will add unto 
thy days, fifteen years. (2 Kings 20: 1, 4, 5, 6.) 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart and go up 
hence, thou and the people. . . . For I will not 
go up in the midst of thee. . . . And the Lord said 
unto Moses, I will do this thing, also, that thou hast 
spoken. . . . My presence shall go with thee, and 
I will give thee rest. (Ex. 33: 1, 3, 14, 17.) 

X. 

God is Just and Impartial. 

The Lord is upright, . . . and there is no un- 
righteousness in him. (Ps. 42: 15.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 247 

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Gen. 
18; 25.) 

A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right 
is he. (Deut. 32:4.) 

There is no respect of persons with God. (Rom. 
2: 11.) 

Ye say the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear 
now, O house of Israel; is not my way equal? (Ezek. 
18: 25.) 

He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and 
widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food 
and raiment. Love ye, therefore, the stranger. (Deut. 
10: 18, 19.) 

God is Unjust and Partial. 

Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he 
be unto his brethren. (Gen. 9:25.) 

For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visit- 
ing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto 
the third and fourth generation. (Ex. 20: 5.) 

For the children being not yet born, neither hav- 
ing done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, 
according to election, might stand, ... it was 
said unto her. The elder shall serve the younger. And 
as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I 
hated. (Rom. 9: 11-13.) 

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he 
shall have more abundance ; but whosoever hath not, 
from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
(Matt. 13: 12.) 

Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself i 
thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, 



248 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

that he may eat it ; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien. 
(Deut. 14: 21.) 

And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the 
angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have 
sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, 
what have they done? (2 Sam. 24: 17.) 



XL 



God is Not the Author of Evil. 

The law of the Lord is perfect. . . . The stat- 
utes of the Lord are right. . . . The command- 
ment of the Lord is pure. (Ps. 19: 7, 8.) 

God is not the author of confusion. (1 Cor. 14: 33.) 

A God of truth and without iniquity, just and 
right is he. (Deut. 32: 4.) 

For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
tempteth he any man. (James 1 : 13.) 

God is the Author of Evil. 

Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not 
evil and good? (Lam. 3: 38.) 

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I frame evil against 
you and devise a device against you. (Jer. 18: 11.) 

I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all 
these things. (Is. 45 : 7.) 

Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not 
done it? (Amos 3: 6.) 

Therefore I give them also statutes that were not 
good, and judgments whereby they should not live. 
(Ezek.20:25.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 249 

XIL 

God Gives Freely to Those Who Ask. 

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that 
giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it 
shall be given him. (James 1 : 5.) 

For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that 
seeketh findeth. (Luke 11: 10.) 

God Withholds His Blessings and Prevents Their 
Reception. 

He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their 
heart that they should not see with their eyes, nor 
understand with their heart, and be converted, and I 
should heal them. (John 12: 40.) 

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, 
that they should come against Israel in battle, that he 
might destroy them utterly, and that they might have 
no favor. (Josh. 11 : 20.) 

O Lord, why hast thou made us to err, from thy 
ways and hardened our heart? (Is. 63: 17.) 

XIIL 

God is to be Found by Those who Seek Him. 

Every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seek- 
eth findeth. (Matt. 7:8.) 

Those that seek me early shall find me. (Prov. 
8: 17.) 



250 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

God is Not to be Found by Those who Seek Him. 

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not an- 
swer; they shall seek me early, but shall not find me. 
(Prov. 1: 28.) 

And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide 
mine eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers 
I will not hear. (Is. 1 : 15.) 

They cried, but there was none to save them ; even 
unto the Lord, but he answered them not. (Ps. 18: 41.) 

XIV. 

God is Peaceful. 

. The God of peace. (Rom. 15: 33.) 
God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. 
(1 Cor. 14:33.) 

God is Warlike. 

The Lord is a man of war. (Ex. 14: 3.) 
The Lord of Hosts is his name. (Is. 51 : 15.) 
Blessed be the Lord, my strength, which teacheth 
myhands to war and my fingers to fight. (Ps. 144: 1.) 

XV. 

God is Kind, Merciful and Good. 

The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. 
(James 5: 11.) 

For he doth not afilict willingly, nor grieve the chil- 
dren of men. (Lam. 3: 33.) 

For his mercy endureth forever. (1 Chron. 16: 34.) 

I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, 
saith the Lord God. (Ezek. 18: 32.) ' 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 251 

The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies, 
are over all his works. (Ps. 145 : 9.) 

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come 
unto the knowledge of the truth.. (1 Tim. 2: 4.) 

God is love. (1 John 4: 16.) 

Good and upright is the Lord. (Ps. 25 : 8.) 

God is Cruel, Unmerciful, Destructive and Ferocious. 

I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but de- 
stroy them. (Jer. 13 : 14.) 

And thou shalt consume all the people which the 
Lord thy God shall deliver thee ; thine eye shall have 
no pity upon them. (Deut. 7: 16.) 

~ Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all 
that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man 
and woman, infant and suckling. (1 Sam. 15 : 2, 3.) 

Because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, 
even he smote of the people fifty thousand, and three- 
score and ten men. (1 Sam. 6: 19.) 

The Lord thy God is a consuming fire. (Deut. 
4: 24.) 

The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon 
them, . . . and they died. (Josh. 10: 11.) 

XVL 

God's Anger is Slow, and Endures but for a Moment. 

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger 
and plenteous in mercy. (Ps..l03: 8.) 

His anger endureth but for a moment. (Ps. 30: 5.) 

God's Anger is Fierce, Frequent, and Endures Long. 

And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, 
and he made them wander in the wilderness forty 



252 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

years, until all the generation that had done evil in 
the sight of the Lord was consumed. (Num. 32: 13.) 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads 
of the people, and -hang them up before the Lord 
against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord 
may be turned away from Israel. (Num. 25 : 4.) 

For ye have kindled a fire in mine anger which 
shall burn forever. (Jer. 17 : 4.) 

God is a.igry ["with the wicked," interpolated by 
the translators] every day. (Ps. 7: 11.) 

And the Lord met him and sought to kill him. (Ex. 
4:24.) 

XVIL 

.God Commands, Approves of, and Delights in Burnt 
Offerings, Sacrifices and Holy Days. 

Thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offer- 
ing for atonement. (Ex. 29: 36.) 

On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall 
be a day of atonement ; it shall be a holy convocation 
unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls and offer an 
offering made by fire unto the Lord. (Lev. 23 : 27.) 

And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar; 
. . . it is a sweet savor unto the Lord. (Ex. 29 : 18.) 

And the priest shall burn all on the altar to be a 
burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet 
savor unto the Lord. (Lev. 1:9.) 

God Disapproves of, and Has No Pleasure in. Burnt 
Offerings, Sacrifices, and Holy Days. 

For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded 
them in the day that I brought them out of the land of 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 253 

Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. (Jer 
7 -.22.) 

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your 
sacrifices sweet unto me. (Jer. 6: 20.) 

Will I eat of the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of 
goats? Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy 
vows unto the Most High. (Ps. 1 : 13, 14.) 

Bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an abom- 
ination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the 
calling of assemblies I cannot away with; it is in- 
iquity, even the solemn meeting. . . . To what 
purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? 
saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of 
rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in 
the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 
When ye come to appear before me, who hath re- 
quired this at your hands? (Is. 1 : 13, 11, 12.) 

XVIII. 

God Forbids Human Sacrifice. 

Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by 
following them [the Gentile nations;] . . .for 
every abomination to the Lord which he hateth have 
they done unto their gods ; for even their sons and 
their daughters have they burned in the fire to their 
gods. (Deut. 12: 30, 31.) 

God Commands and Accepts Human Sacrifices. 

No devoted thing that a man shall devote unto the 
Lord of all that he hath, both of man and of beast, and 



254 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

of the field of his possession, shall be sold or re- 
deemed; every devoted thing is most holy unto the 
Lord. None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, 
shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death. 
(Lev. 27:28,29.) 

The king [David] took the two sons of Rizpah, . 
. " . and the five sons of Michael ; . . . and he 
delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and 
they hanged them in the hill before the Lord. . . . 
And after that God was entreated for the land. (2 
Sam. 21 : 8, 9, 14.) 

And he [God] said. Take now thy son, thine only 
son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land 
of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering. 
(Gen. 22:2.) 

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and 
said. If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of 
Ammon unto my hands, then it shall be, that whatso- 
ever Cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet 
me when I return in peace from the children of Am- 
mon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up 
for a burnt offering. So Jephthah passed over unto 
the children of Ammon to fight against them ; and the 
Lord delivered them into his hands. . . . And 
Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, and behold, 
his daughter canae out to meet him. . . . And he 
sent her away for two months ; and she went with her 
companions and bewailed her virginity upon the moun- 
tains. And it came to pass at the end of two months 
that she returned unto her father, who did according 
to his vow which he had vowed. (Judges 11 : 30, 31, 32, 
34, 38, 39.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 255 

XIX. 

God Tempts No Man. 

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted 
of God ; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
tempteth he any man. fjames 1 : 13.) 

God Does Tempt Men. 

And it came to pass after these things that God 
did tempt Abraham. (Gen. 22: 1.) 

And again the anger of the Lord was kindled 
against Israel, and he moved David against them to 
say, Go number Israel and Judah. (2 Sam. 24: 1.) 

And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou consid- 
ered my servant Job, that there is none like him in 
the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fear 
eth God and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast 
his integrity, although tho'u movedst me against him, 
to destroy him without cause. (Job 2:3.) 

O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived 
[marginal reading, "enticed"]. (Jer. 20: 7.) 

Lead us not into temptation. (Matt. 6: 13.) 

XX. 

God Cannot Lie. 

God is not a man, that he should lie. (Num. 23 : 19.) 
It was impossible for God to lie. (Heb. 6: 18.) " 

God Lies ; He Sends Forth Lying Spirits to Deceive. 

Ah, Lord God ! surely thou hast greatly deceived 
this people. (Jer. 4:10.) 



256 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar? (Jer. 
14: 18.) 

For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, 
that they should believe a lie. (2 Thes. 2: 11.) 

Now, therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying 
spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the 
Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. (1 Kings 22: 
23.) 

Then God sent an evil spirit. (Judges 9: 23.) 

And if the prophet be deceived when he hath 
spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet. 
(Ezek. 14:9.) 

Because of Man's Wickedness God Destroys Him. 

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great 
in the earth, and that every imagination of the 
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . 
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have 
created. (Gen. 6:5, 7.) 

Because of Man's Wickedness God Will Not Destroy. 

Him. 

And the Lord said in his heart, I will not again 

curse the ground any more for man's sake ; for the 

imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth ; 

neither will I again smite any more every living thing. 

"(Gen. 8:21.) 

xxn. 

God's Attributes Are Revealed in His Works. 

For the invisible things of him from the creation 
of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 257 

things that are made, even his eternal power and God- 
head. (Rom. 1 : 20.) 

God's Attributes Cannot Be Discovered. 

Cans't thou, by searching, find out God? (Job 11:7.) 
There is no searching of his understanding. (Is. 
40:28.) 

XXIII. 

There is but One God. 

The Lord our God is one Lord. (Deut. 6: 4.) 
There is none other God but one. (1 Cor. 8: 4.) 

There is a Plurality of Gods. 

And God said. Let us make man in our image. 
(Gen 1 : 26.) 

And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become 
as one of us. (Gen. 3 : 22.) 

And the Lord appeared unto him [Abraham] in the 
plains of Mamre. . . . And he lifted up his eyes 
and looked, and lo, three men stood by him ; and when 
he saw them he ran to meet them from the tent door, 
and bowed himself toward the ground, and said. My 
Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not 
away, I pray thee, from thy servant. (Gen. 18 : 1-3.) 

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the 
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. (1 John 5 : 7.) 

MORAL PRECEPTS. 

XXIV. 

Robbery Commanded. 

When ye go, ye shall not go empty; but every 
woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that 

17 



258 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver and jewels of 
gold, and raiment; and y^ shall put them upon your 
sons and upon your daughters ; and ye shall spoil the 
Egyptians. (Ex. 3 : 21, 22.) 

And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of sil- 
ver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. . „ . And 
they spoiled the Egyptians. (Ex. 12 : 35, 26.) 

Robbery Forbidden. 

Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob 
him. (Lev. 19: 13.) 

Thou shalt not steal. (Ex. 20: 15.) 

XXV. 

Lying Commanded, Approved and Sanctioned. 

And the Lord said unto Samuel, ... I will 
send thee to Jesse, the Bethlemite ; for I have provided 
me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can 
I go? If Saul hear it he will kill me. And the Lord 
. said. Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to 
sacrifice to the Lord. (1 Sam. 16: 1, 2.) 

And the woman [Rahab] took the two men and 
hid them and said thus : There came men unto me, but 
I wist not whence they were; and it came to pass 
about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was 
dark, that the men went out; whither the men went 
I know not ; pursue after them quickly, for ye shall over- 
take them. But she had brought them up to the roof 
of the house and hid them with the stalks of flax. 
(Josh. 2 : 4-6.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 259 

Was not Rahab, the harlot, justified by works, 
when she had received the messengers, and had them 
sent out another way? (James 2: 25.) 

And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and 
said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and 
have saved the men-children alive? And the mid- 
wives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew^ women 
are not as the Egyptian women ; for they are lively, 
and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto 
them. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives. 
(Ex. 1 : 18-20.) 

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the 
Lord, and said, I will persuade him. ... I will go 
forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his 
prophets. And he said. Thou shalt persuade him and 
prevail also; go forth and do so. (1 Kings 22: 21, 22.) 

Ye shall know my breach of promise. (Num 
14: 34.) 

For if the truth of God hath more abounded 
through my lie unto his glory, why yet am I also 
judged as a sinner? (Rom. 3:7.) 

Being crafty, I caught you with guile. (2 Cor. 12: 
16.) 

Lying Forbidden. 

Thou shalt not bear false witness. (Ex. 20: 16.) 
Tying lips are an abomination to the Lord. (Prov. 

12:22.) 

All liars shall have their part in the lake which 

burneth with fire and brimstone. (Rev. 21 : 8.) 



260 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

XXVI, 

Killing Commanded and Sanctioned. 

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man 
his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to 
gate throughout the camp, and slay every man, his 
brother, and every man his companion, and every man 
his neighbor. (Ex. 32 : 27.) 

So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of 
Ahab. . . . And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because 
thou hast done well in executing that which is right 
in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab 
according to all that was in my heart, thy children of 
the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. 
(2 Kings 10: 11, 30.) 

Killing Forbidden. 

Thou Shalt not kill. (Ex. 20: 13.) 
No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (1 
John 3: 15.) 

XXVII. 

The Blood-Shedder Must Die. 

At the hand of every man's brother will I require 
the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by 
man shall his blood be shed. ''Gen. 9: 5, 6.) 

The Blood-Shedder Must Not Die. 

And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any find- 
ing him should kill him. (Gen. 4: 15.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 261 

XXVIII 

The Making of Images Forbidden. 

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, 
or any Hkeness of anything that is in heaven above, 
or that is in the earth beneath. (Ex. 20: 4.) 

The Making of Images Commended. 

Thou shalt make two cherubims of gold. . . . 
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on 
high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and 
their faces shall look one to another. (Ex. 25 : 18, 20.) 

XXIX. 

Slavery and Oppression Ordained. 

Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of servants shall he be 
unto his brethren. (Gen. 9: 25.) 

Of the children of the strangers that do sojourn 
among you, of them shall ye buy. . . . They shall 
be your bondmen forever; but over your brethren, the 
children of Israel, ye shall not rule with rigor. (Lev. 
25:45,46.) 

I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands 
of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to 
the Sabeans, to a people afar off; for the Lord hath 
spoken it. (Joel 3 : 8.) 

Slavery and Oppression Forbidden. 

Undo the heavy burdens. . . . Let the op- 
pressed go free, . . . break every yoke. (Is. 58 : 6.) 



262 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Thou shall neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him 
(Ex. 22:21.) 

He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be 
found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. 
(Ex. 21 : 16.) 

Neither be ye called masters. (Matt. 23 : 10.) 

XXX. 

Improvidence Enjoined. 

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they 
toil not, neither do they spin. ... If God so 
clothe the grass of the field . . . shall he not much 
more clothe you? . . . Therefore, take no thought, 
saying, What shall we eat? or what shall v/e drink? 
or wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . Take, 
therefore, no thought for the morrow. (Matt. 6: 28, 
30,31,34.) 

Give to every man that asketh of thee, and of him 
that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again. . . 
. And lend, hoping for nothing again, and your re- 
ward shall be great. (Luke 6: 30, 35.) 

Sell that ye have and give alms. (Luke 12: 33.) 

Improvidence Condemned. 

But if any provide not for his own, especially for 
those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and 
is worse than an infidel. (1 Tim. 5 : 8.) 

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's 
children. (Prov. 13, 22.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 263 

XXXI. 

Anger Approved. 

Be ye angry and sin not. (Eph. 4:26.) 
And he [Elisha] turned back and looked on them 
and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there 
came forth two she-bears out of the wood and tare 
forty and two children of them. (2 Kings 2 : 24.) 

And when he had looked round about on them wit' 
anger, ... he saith unto the man, Stretch forth 
thy hand. (Mark 3:5.) 

Anger Disapproved. 

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger 
resteth in the bosom of fools. (Eccl. 7: 9.) 

Make no friendship with an angry man. (Prov. 
22: 24.) 

The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness 
of God. (James 1 : 20.) 

XXXII. 

Good Works to be Seen of Men. 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may 
see your good works. (Matt. 5 : 16.) 

Good Works Not to be Seen of Men. 

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to 
be seen of them. (Matt. 6: L) 



264 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

XXXIII. 

Judging of Others Forbidden. 

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what 
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. (Matt. 7 : 1, 2.) 

Judging of Others Approved. 

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the 
world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are 
ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know 
ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more 
things that pertain to this life? If, then, ye have judg- 
ments of things pertaining to this life, set them to 
judge who are least esteemed in the church. (1 Cor. 
6:2-4.) 

Do ye not judge them that are within? (1 Cor. 
5: 12.) 

XXXIV. 

Jesus Taught Non-Resistance. 

'Resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on 
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matt. 
5:39.) 

All they that take the sword shall perish with the 
sword. (Matt. 26: 52.) 

Jesus Taught and Practiced Physical Resistance. 

He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and 
buy one. (Luke 22: 36.') 

And when he had made a scourge of small cords, 
he drove them all out of the temple. (John 2: 15.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 265 

XXXV. 

Jesus Warned His Followers Not to Fear Being 
Killed. 

Be not afraid of them that kill the body. (Luke 
12:4.) 

Jesus Himself Avoided the Jews for Fear of Being 

Killed. 

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee ; for he 
would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to 
kill him. (John 7: 1.) 

XXXVI. 

Public Prayer Sanctioned. 

And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, 
in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and 
spread forth his hands toward heaven. [Then follows 
the prayer.] And it was so, and when Solomon had 
made an end of praying all his prayer and supplica- 
tion unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of 
the Lord, from kneeling on his knees, with his hands 
spread up to heaven. . . . And the Lord said unto 
him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that 
thou hast made before me. (1 Kings 8: 22, 54, and 
9:3.) 

Public Prayer Disapproved. 

When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypo- 
crites are ; for they love to pray standing in the syna- 



266 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

gogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they 
may be seen of men. . . . But thou, when thou 
prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast 
shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret. 
(Matt. 6: 5, 6.) 

XXXVII. 

Importunity in Prayer Commended. 

Because this' widow troubleth me, I will avenge 
her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. . . 
. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry 
day and night unto him? (Luke 18: 5, 7.) 

Because of his importunity he will rise, and give 
him as many as he needeth. (Luke 11 : 8.) 

Importunity in Prayer Condemned. 

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the 
heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard 
for their much speaking. Be ye not therefore like unto 
them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have 
need of before ye ask him. (Matt. 6: 7, 8.) 

XXXVIIL 

The Wearing of Long Hair by Men Sanctioned. 

And no razor shall come on his head ; for the child 
shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb. (Judges 
13: 5.) 

All the days of the vow of his separation there 
shall be no razor come upon his head; until the days 
be fulfilled in thee which he separateth himself unto 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 267 

the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of 
the hair of his head grow. (Num. 6:5.) 

The Wearing of Long Hair by Men Condemned. 

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man 
have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (1 Cor. 11 : 14.) 

XXXIX. 

Circumcision Instituted. 

This is my covenant which ye shall keep between 
men and you and thy seed after thee : Every man 
child among you shall be circumcised. (Gen. 17: 10.) 

Circumcision Condemned. 

Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if ye be cir- 
cumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (Gal. 5. 2.) 

XL. 

The Sabbath Instituted. 

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it. 
(Gen. 2:3.) 

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Ex. 
20: 8.) 

The Sabbath Repudiated. 

The new moons and sabbaths, the calling of as- 
semblies, I cannot away with ; it is iniquity. (Is. 1 : 13.") 

One man esteemeth one day above another; an- 
other esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be 
fully persuaded in his own mind. (Rom. 14: 5.) 



268 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in 
drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon ; 
or of the sabbath days. (Col. 2: 16.) 

XLI. 

The Sabbath Instituted Because God Rested the 
Seventh Day. 

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh 
day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and 
hallowed it. (Ex.20: IL) 

The Sabbath Instituted for a Very Different Reason. 

And remember that thou was a servant in the land 
of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out 
thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out 
arm ; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to 
keep the Sabbath day. (Deut. 5: 15.) 

XLIL 

No Work to be Done on the Sabbath Under Penalty 
of Death. 

Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he 
shall surely be put to death. (Ex. 31 : 15.) 

They found a man that gathered sticks up on the 
Sabbath day. . . . And all the congregation 
brought him without the camp and stoned him with 
stones, and he died ; as the Lord commanded Moses. 
(Num. 15:32,36.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 269 

Jesus Broke the Sabbath and Justified the Act. 

Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought 
to slay him, because he had done these things on the 
Sabbath day. (John 5 : 16.) 

At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through 
the corn ; and his disciples were hungered, and began 
to pluck the ears of corn, and eat. But when the 
Pharisees saw it they said unto him, Behold, thy dis- 
ciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the 
Sabbath day. But he said unto them, . . . Have you 
not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days 
the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are 
blameless? (Matt.l2: 1,2, 3, 5.) 

XLIII. 

Baptism Commanded. 

Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost. (Matt. 28: 19.) 

Baptism Not Commanded. 

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach 
the gospel. ... I thank God that I baptize none of 
you but Crispus and Gains. (1 Cor. 1 : 17, 14.) 

XLIV. 
Every Kind of Animal Allowed for Food. 

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for 
you. (Gen. 9: 3.) 



270 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS, 

Whatsoever is sold in the shambles that eat. (1 Cor. 
10: 25.) 
There is nothing unclean of itself. (Rom. 14: 14.) 

Certain Kinds of Animals Prohibited for Food. 

Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat, of them that 
chew the cud or of them that divide the cloven hoof ; as 
the camel and the hare, and the coney ; for they chew 
the cud, but divide not the hoof ; therefore they are un- 
clean unto you. And the swine, because it divideth the 
hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you ; 
ye shall not eat their flesh, nor touch their dead car- 
cass. (Deut. 14: 7, 8.) 

XLV 

The Taking of Oaths Sanctioned. 

If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath 
to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his 
word ; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out 
of his mouth. (Num. 30: 2.) 

He that sweareth in the earth shall swear by God 
of truth. (Is. 65: 16.) 

Now, therefore, swear unto me here by God . . . 
And Abraham said, I will swear. . . . There they sware 
both of them. (Gen. 21 : 23, 24, 31.) 

Because he [God] could swear by no greater, he 
sware by himself. (Heb. 6: 13.) 

And I . . . made them swear by God. (Neh. 13 : 25.) 

The Taking of Oaths Forbidden. 

But I say unto you, swear not at all ; neither by 
heaven for it is God's throne; nor by the earth for it 
is his foot stool. (Matt. 5 : 34.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 271 

XLVI. 

Marriage Approved and Sanctioned. 

And the Lord said, It is not good that the man 
should be alone : I will make him a help-meet for 
him. (Gen. 2: 18.) 

And God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, 
and replenish the earth. (Gen. 1 : 28.) 

For this cause shall a man leave father and mother 
and shall cleave to his wife. (Matt. 19: 5.) 

Marriage is honorable in all. (Heb. 13 : 4.) 

Marriage Disapproved. 

It is good for man not to touch a woman. . . .For 
I, [Paul] would that all men were even as myself. 
. . . It is good for them if they abide even as I. 
(1 Cor. 7: 1,7,8.) 

XLVII. 

Freedom of Divorce Permitted. 

When a man hath taken a wife and married her, 
and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, 
. . . then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and 
give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 
(Deut. 29:1.) 

When thou goest out to war against thine enemies, 
and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thy 
hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seest 
among the captives a beautiful woman and hast a de- 
sire unto her, . . . then thou shalt bring her home 
to house ;. . . . and after that thou shalt go unto her 



272 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it 
shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou 
shalt let her go whither she will ; but thou shalt not 
sell her at all for money; thou shalt not make mer- 
chandise of her. (Deut. 21 : 10-14.) 

Divorce Restricted. 

But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away 
his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth 
her to commit adultery. (Matt. 5 : 32.) 

XLVIII. 

Adultery Sanctioned. 

But all the women and children that have not known 
a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 
(Num. 31: 18.) 

And the Lord said unto Hosea, Go, take thee a 
wife of whoredoms. . . . Then said the Lord to me. Go 
yet, love a woman, beloved of her friend, yet an adult- 
eress. ... So I bought her; . . . and I said unto her. 
Thou shalt abide for me many days ; thou 
shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be 
for another man; so will I also be for thee. (Hosea 
1:2; 3: 1,2,3.) 

Adultery Forbidden. 

Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Ex. 20: 14.) 
Whoremongers and adulterers God will judgCc 
(Heb. 13:4.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 273 

XLIX. 
Marriage or Cohabitation with a Sister Denounced. 

Cursed is he that Heth with his sister, the daughter 
of his father, or the daughter of his mother. (Deut. 
27:22.) 

And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daugh- 
ter, or his mother's daughter, ... it is a wicked thing. 
(Lev. 20: 17.) 

Abraham Married His Sister, and God Blessed the 

Union. 

And Abraham said, . . . She is my sister; she is the 
daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my 
mother; and she became my wife. (Gen. 20: 11, 12.) 

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarah, thy 
wife, ... I will bless her,and give her a son also 
of her. (Gen. 17: 15, 16.) 



A Man May Marry his Brother's? Widow. 

If brethren dwell together, and one of them die and 
have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry 
without unto a stranger; her husband's brother shall 
go in unto her, and take her to him to wife. (Deut. 
25:5.) 

A Man May Not Marry his Brother's Widow. 

If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean 
thing; . . . they shall be childless. (Lev. 20: 21.) 

18 



274 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

LI. 

Hatred to Kindred Enjoined. 

If any man come unto me, and hate not his father, 
and mother, and wife and children, and brethren, 
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be 
my disciple. (Luke 15 : 26.) 

Hatred to Kindred Condemned. 

Honor thy father and thy mother. (Eph. 6: 2.) 
Husbands, love your wives. . . . For no man ever yet 

hated his own flesh. (Eph. 5 : 25, 29.) 

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. (1 

John 3: 15.) 

LII. 

Intoxicating Beverages Recommended. 

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, 
and wine to those of heavy hearts. Let him drink 
and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no 
more. (Prov. 31 : 6, 7.) 

And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever 
thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for 
wine, or for strong drink. (Deut. 15: 26.) 

Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy 
stomach's sake, alid thine often infirmities. (1 Tim. 
5: 23.) 

Wine that maketh glad the heart of man. (Ps. 104: 
15.) 

Wine which cheereth God and man. (Judges 9: 13.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 275 

Intoxicating Beverages Discountenanced. 

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and who- 
soever is deceived thereby is not wise. (Prov. 20: 1.) 

Look not thou upon the wine when it is red ; when 
it giveth his color in the cup. ... At the last it biteth 
like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. (Prov. 23 : 
31,32.) 

LIII. 

It is Our Duty to Obey Rulers, Who are God's Minis- 
ters and Punish Evil Doers Only. 

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. 
For there is no power but God; the powers that be 
are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth 
the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they 
that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For 
rulers are not a terror to good work, but to evil. . . . 
For this cause pay ye tribute also ; for they are God's 
ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 
(Rom. 13: 1, 2, 3,6.) 

The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses seat ; all, 
therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that 
observe and do. (Matt. 23 : 2, 3.) 

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the 
Lord's sake ; whether it be to the king as supreme, or 
unto governors as unto them that are sent of him for 
the punishment of evil doers. (1 Pet. 2: 13, 14.) 

I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment. . . . 
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil 
thing. (Eccl. 8:2, 5.) 



276 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

It is Not Our Duty Always to Obey Rulers, Who 

Sometimes Punish the Good, and Receive 

Damnation Therefor. 

But the midwives feared God, and did not as the 

king of Egypt commanded them Therefore God 

dealt well with the midwives. (Ex. 1 : 17, 20.) 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and 
said, ... Be it known unto thee, O king that we will 
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image 
which thou hast set up. (Dan. 3: 16, 18.) 

Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the 
decree, . . . (that whoever shall ask a petition of any 
God or man for thirty days, ... he shall be cast into 
the den of lions.) . . . Now, when Daniel knew that 
the writing was signed, he went into his house and, . . . 
kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, 
... as he did aforetime. (Dan. 6: 9, 7, 10.) 

And the rulers were gathered together against the 
Lord and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy 
holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both 
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the 
people of Israel, were gathered together. (Acts. 4: 26, 
27.) 

Beware of the Scribes, which love to go in long 
clothing, and love salutations in the market places, 
and the chief seats in the synagogues. . . . These re- 
ceive greater damnation. (Mark 12: 38-40.) 

And Herod with his men of war set him at naught, 
and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, 
and sent him again to Pilate. . . . And Pilate gave 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 277 

sentence. . . . And when they were come to the 
place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him. 
. . . And the people stood by beholding. And the 
rulers also with him derided him. (Luke 23 : 11, 24, 33, 
35.) 

LIV. 

Woman's Rights Denied. 

And thy desire shall be thy husband, and he shall 
rule over thee. (Gen. 3: 16.) 

I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority 
over the man, but to be in silence. (1 Tim. 2 : 12.) 

They are commanded to be under obedience, as also 
saith the law. (1 Cor. 14: 34.) 

Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. 
(1 Peter 3: 6.) 

Woman's Rights Affirmed. 

And Deborah, a prophetess, . . . judged Israel at 
that time. . . . And Deborah said unto Barak, Up, for 
this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera 
into thy hand . . . And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and 
all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the 
sword before Barak. (Judges 4: 4, 14, 15.) 

The inhabitants of the villages ceased ; they ceased 
in Israel, until that I, Deborah, aroge, that I arose, a 
mother in Israel. (Judges 5 : 7.) 

And on my handmaidens I will pour out in those 
days my spirit, and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2: 18.) 

And the same man had four daughters, virgins, 
which did prophesy. (Acts 21 : 9.) 



278 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

LV. 
Obedience to Masters Enjoined. 

Servants, obey in all things your masters according 
to the flesh. . . . And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily 
as to the Lord. (Col. 3 : 22,23.) 

Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; 
not only to the good and gentle, but also to the for- 
ward. (1 Pet. 2: 18.) 

Obedience Due to God Only. 

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only 
shalt thou serve. (Matt. 4: 10.) 

Be ye not the servants of men. (1 Cor. 7 : 23.) 
Neither be ye called masters ; for one is your mas- 
ter, even Christ. (Matt. 23 : 10.) 

LVI. 

There is an Unpardonable Sin. 

He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost 
hath never forgiveness. (Mark 3: 29.) 

There is No Unpardonable Sin. 

And by him all that believe are justified from all 
things. (Acts 13 : 39.) 

LVII. 
Man was Created After the Other Animals. 

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, 
and cattle after their kind. . . . And God said, Let 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 279 

US make man. ... So God created man in his own 
image. (Gen. 1 : 25-27.) 

Man was Created Before the Other Animals. 

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man 
should be alone ; I will make him a help-meet for him. 
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every 
beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought 
them unto Adam to see what he would call them. (Gen. 
2: 18, 19.) 

LVIIL 

Noah, by God's Command, Took Into the Ark Clean 
Beasts by Sevens. 

And the Lord said unto Noah, ... Of every 
clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens. . . . 
And Noah did according to all that the Lord com- 
manded him. (Gen. 7: 1, 2, 5.) 

Noah, by God's Command, Took Into the Ark Clean 
Beasts by Twos. 

Of clean beasts . . . there went in two and two 
unto Noah into the Ark, ... as God had com- 
manded Noah. (Gen. 7:8, 9.) 

LIX. 
Seed Time and Harvest were Never to Cease. 

While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest 
. . . shall not cease. (Gen. 8: 22.) 

Seed Time and Harvest Did Cease for Seven Years. 

And the seven years of dearth began to come. . . . 
And the famine was over all the face of the earth. 
(Gen. 41 : 54, 56.) 



280 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

For these two years hath the famine been in the 
land ; and yet there are five years in which there shall 
neither be earing nor harvest. (Gen. 45 : 6.) 

LX. 

God Hardened Pharaoh's Heart. 

But I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the 
people go. (Ex. 4:21.) 

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. (Ex. 
9: 12.) 

Pharaoh Hardened His Own Heart. 

But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he 
hardened his heart, and barkened not unto them. (Ex. 
8: 15.^ 

LXI. 

All the Cattle and Horses in Egypt Died. 

Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle 
which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, 
upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep. 
. . . And all the cattle of Egypt died. (Ex. 9 : 3, 6.) 

All the Horses of Egypt Did Not Die. 

But the Egyptians pursued after them (all the 
horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and 
his army), and overtook them encamping by the sea. 
(Ex. 14:9.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 281 

LXII. 

John the Baptist Recognized Jesus as the Messiah. 

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, 
and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
the sin of the world. . . . And I saw and bare 
record that this is the Son of God. (John 1 : 29, 34.) 

John the Baptist Did Not Recognize Jesus as the 
Messiah. 

Now, when John had heard in the prison the works 
of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto 
him. Art thou he that should come, or do we look for 
another? (Matt. 11: 2, 3.) 

LXIII. 

John the Baptist was Elias. 

This is Elias which was for to come. (Matt. 
11:14.) 

John the Baptist was Not Elias. 

And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? 
And he saith, I am not. (John 1 : 21.) 

LXIV. 

The Father of Joseph, Mary's Husband, was Jacob. 

And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of 
whom was born Jesus. (Matt. 1 : 16.) 



282 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The Father of Mary's Husband was Heli. 

Being . . . the son of Joseph which was the 
son of Heh. (Luke 3 : 23.) 

LXV. 

The Father of Salah was Arphaxad. 

And Arphaxad Hved five and thirty years and begat 
Salah. (Gen. 11: 12.) 

The Father of Salah was Cainan. 

Which was the son of Sala, which was the son of 
Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad. (Luke 3: 
35, 56.) 

LXVL 

. . The Infant Jesus was Taken into Egypt. 

He took the young child and his mother by night 
and departed into Egypt, and was there until the 
death of Herod. . . . But when Herod was dead 
. . . he arose and took the young child and his 
mother and came . . . and dwelt in a city called 
Nazareth. (Matt. 2: 14, 15, 19, 21, 23.) 

The Infant Jesus was Not Taken into Egypt. 

And when the days of her purification, according to 
the law of Moses, were accomplished, they brought 
him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord. . . . 
And when they had performed all things, according to 
the law of the Lord, they returned ... to their 
own city, Nazareth. (Luke 2: 22, 39.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 283 

LXVII. 

Jesus was Tempted in the Wilderness. 

And immediately [after his baptism] the spirit 
driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there 
in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan. (Mark 
1: 12, 13.) 

Jesus was Not Tempted in the Wilderness. 

And the third day [after his baptism] there was 
a marriage in Cana of Galilee. . . . And both 
Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. 
(John 2 : 1, 2.) 

LXVIII. 

Jesus Preached His First Sermon Sitting on the 
Mount. 

And, seeing the multitude, he went up into a moun- 
tain, and when he was set his disciples came unto him. 
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying. 
(Matt. 5: 1, 2.) 

He Preached His First Sermon Standing in the Plain. 

And he came down with them and stood in the 
plain; and the company of his disciples and a great 
multitude of people . . . came to hear him. . . . 
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said. 
(Luke 6: 17,20.) 



284 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS.^ 

LXIX. 

John was in Prison when Jesus went into Galilee. 

Now, after that John was put in prison, Jesus came 
into Gahlee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of 
God. (Mark 1 : 14.) 

John was Not in Prison when Jesus went into Galilee. 

The day following Jesus would go forth into Gali- 
lee. (John 1 : 43.) 

After these things came Jesus and his disciples into 
the land of Judea. . . . And John was also bap- 
tizing in Enon. . . . For John was not yet cast 
into prison. (John 3 : 22-24.) 

LXX. 

The Disciples were Commanded to Take a Staff and 
Sandals. 

And commanded them that they should take noth- 
*ing for their journey save a stafif only; no scrip, no 
bread, no money in their purse ; but be shod with san- 
dals. (Mark 6: 8, 9.) 

They were Commanded to Take Neither Staves Nor 
Sandals. 

Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your 
purses; nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, 
neither shoes, nor yet staves. (Matt. 10: 9, 10.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 285 

LXXI 

Two Blind Men Besought Jesus. 

And behold, two blind men sitting by the way- 
side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, 
saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord thou son of David. 
(Matt. 20:30.) 

Only One Blind Man Besought Him. 

A certain blind man sat by the way-side begging. 
. . . And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of Da- 
vid, have mercy on me. (Luke 18: 35, 38.) 

LXXIL 

Two Men Coming Out of the Tombs Met Jesus. 

There met him two, possessed with devils, coming 
out of the tombs. (Matt. 8 : 28.) 

Only One Man Coming Out of the Tombs Met Him. 

There met him, out of the tombs, a man with an 
unclean spirit. (Mark 5:2.) 

Lxxin. 

A Centurion Besought Jesus to Heal His Servant. 

There came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 
and saying. Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the 
palsy. (Matt. 8: 5, 6.) 



286 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Not the Centurion, but his Messengers, Besought 
Jesus. 

He sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching 
him that he would come and heal his servant. And 
.when they came to Jesus, they besought him. (Luke 
7:3,4.) 

LXXIV. 

Jesus was Crucified at the Third Hour. 

And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 
(Mark 15: 25.) 

He Was Not Crucified Until the Sixth Hour. 

And it was the preparation of the passover, and 
about the sixth hour; and he saith unto the Jews, Be- 
hold your king. . . . Shall I crucify your king? 
(John 19: 14, 15.) 

LXXV. 

The Two Thieves Reviled Jesus. 

The thieves also, which were crucified with him, 
cast the same in his teeth. (Matt. 27 : 44.) 

And they that were crucified with him, reviled him. 
(Mark 15: 32.) 

Only One of the Thieves Reviled Him. 

And one of the malefactors which were hanged 
railed on him. . . . But the other answering, re- 
buked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing 
thou art in the same condemnation? (Luke 23 : 39, 40.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 287 

LXXVL 
Vinegar Mingled with Gall was Offered to Jesus. 

They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall. 
(Matt. 27: 34.) 

Wine Mingled with Myrrh was Offered to Him. 

And they gave him to drink, wine mingled with 
myrrh. (Mark 15: 23.) 

LXXVII. 

Satan Entered into Judas while at the Supper. 

And after the sop Satan entered into him. (John 
13:27.) 

Satan Entered into him Before the Supper. 

Then entered Satan into Judas. . . . And he 
went his way and communed with the chief priests 
and captains, how he might betray him. . . . Then 
came the day of unleavened bread when the passover 
must be killed. (Luke 22 : 3, 4, 7.) 

LXXVIIL 
Judas Returned the Pieces of Silver. 

Then Judas . . . brought again the thirty 
pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. (Matt. 
27:3.) 

' Judas Did Not Return the Pieces of Silver. 

Now, this man purchased a field with the reward 
of iniquity. (Acts 1 : 18.) 



288 PACTS, TRUTHS 'AND REASONS. 

LXXIX. 

Judas Hanged Himself. 

And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, 
and departed, and went and hanged himself. (Matt. 
27: 5.) 

Judas Did Not Hang Himself, but Died Another Way. 

And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the 
midst, and all his bowels gushed out. (Acts 1 : 18.) 

LXXX. 

The Potter's Field was Purchased by Judas 

Now, this man purchased a field with the reward of 
iniquity. (Acts 1 : 18.) 

The Potter's Field was Purchased by the Chief Priests. 

And the chief priests took the silver pieces . . . 
and bought with them the potter's field. (Matt. 27: 
6, 7.) 

LXXXI. 

But One Woman Came to the Sepulcher. 

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene, 
early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher. (John 
20: 1.) 

Two Women Came to the Sepulcher. 

In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn 
toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magda- 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 289 

lene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulcher. (Matt. 
28: 1.) 

LXXXII. 

Three Women Came to the Sepulcher. 

And when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magda- 
lene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had 
brought swe^t spices, that they might come and anoint 
him. (Mark 16: 1.) 

More than Three Women Came to the Sepulcher. 

It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary 
the mother of James, and other women that were with 
them. (Luke 24: 10.) 

LXXXIIL 
It was at Sunrise when they Came to the Sepulcher. 

And very early in the morning, the first day of the 
week, they came unto the sepulcher, at the rising of 
the sun. (Mark 16: 2.) 

It was Some Time Before Sunrise when They Came. 

The first day of the week, cometh Mary Magdalene, 
early, while it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher. (John 
20: 1.) 

LXXXIV. 

Two Angels were Seen at the Sepulcher, Standing Up. 

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed 
thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining 
garments. (Luke 24: 4.) 

19 



290 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

But One Angel was Seen, and He was Sitting Down. 

For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, 
and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and 
sat upon it. . . . And the angel answered and said 
unto the women, Fear not. (Matt. 28: 2, 5.) 

LXXXV. 

Two Angels were Seen Within the Sepulcher. 

And as she wept she stooped down and looked into 
the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white. (John 
20: 11, 12.) 

But One Angel was Seen Within the Sepulcher. 

And entering Into the sepulcher, they saw a young 
man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white 
garment. (Mark 16: 5.) 

The One Angel Seen was Without the Sepulcher. 

The angel . . . rolled back the stone from the 
door, and sat upon it. (Matt. 28: 2.) 

LXXXVI. 

The Women Went and Told the Disciples of Christ's 
Resurrection. 

And they departed quickly from the sepulcher, with 
fear and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples 
word. (Matt. 28: 8.) 

And. returned from the sepulcher, and told all these 
things unto the eleven. (Luke 24: 9.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. '291 

The Women Did Not Go and Tell the Disciples. 

And they went out quickly and fled from the sepul- 
cher ; for they trembled and were amazed ; neither said 
they anything to any man. (Mark 16: 8.) 

LXXXVIL 

The Angels Appeared After Peter and John Visited 
the Sepulcher. 

Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple 
[whom Jesus loved], and came to the sepulcher. . . . 
and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen 
clothes. . . . Then the disciples went away again. 
But Mary stood without at the sepulcher, weeping; 
and as she wept she stooped down and looked into 
the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white. (John 
20: 3, 6, 10-12.) 

The Angels Appeared Before Peter Alone Visited the 
Sepulcher. 

Behold, two men stood by them [the women] in 
shining garments. . . . And they . . . re- 
turned from the sepulcher, and told all these things 
unto the eleven. . . . Then arose Peter, and ran 
into the sepulcher, and stooping down he beheld the 
linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed wonder- 
ing. (Uike24:4, 8, 9.) 

LXXXVIII. 

Jesus First Appeared to Mary Magdalene Only. 

Now, when Jesus was risen early, the first day of 
the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. (Mark 
16:9.) 



292' FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

And when she had thus said, she turned herself 
back and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it 
was Jesus. (John 20: 14.) 

Jesus Appeared First to the Two Marys. 

And as they [Mary Magdalene and the other Mary] 
went to tell his disciples, behold Jesus met them, say- 
ing, All hail. (Matt. 28: 9.) 

He Appears to Neither of the Marys. 

(See Luke 24: 1-11.) 

LXXXIX. 

Jesus was to be Three Days and Three Nights in the 

Grave. 

So shall the son of man be three days and three 
nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12: 40.) 

He was but Two Days and Two Nights in the Grave. 

And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 
. . . It was the preparation, that is, the day before 
the Sabbath. . . . And Pilate . . . gave the 
body to Joseph. And he . . . laid him in a sepul- 
cher. . . . Now, when Jesus was risen early the 
first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Mag- 
dalene. (Mark 15: 25, 42, 44, 45, 46; and 16: 9.) 

XC. 

The Holy Ghost was Bestowed at Pentacost. 

But ye shall receive power after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you. . . . Ye shall be baptized 
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1 : 
8, 5.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. . 293 

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come 
they were all of one accord in one place. . . . And 
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2: 
1,4.) 

The Holy Ghost was Bestowed Before Pentecost. 

And when he said this he breathed on them, and 
saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. (John 
20:22.) 

XCI. 

The Disciples were Commanded Immediately After 
the Resurrection to go into Galilee. 

Then said Jesus unto them. Be not afraid ; go tell 
my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall 
they see me. (Matt. 28: 10.) 

They were Commanded Immediately After the Resur- 
rection to Tarry at Jerusalem. 

But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be 
endued with power from on high. (Luke 24: 49.) 

XCIL 

Jesus First Appeared to the Eleven Disciples in a 
Room at Jerusalem. 

And they rose up the same hour and returned to 
Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together. 
. . . And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood 
in the midst of them. . . . But they were terrified 
and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a 
spirit. (Luke 24: 33, 36, 37.) 



294 FACTS TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The same day, at evening, being the first day of 
the week, when the doors were shut where the dis- 
ciples were assembled, . . . came Jesus and stood 
in the midst. (John 20: 19.) 

He First Appeared to Them on a Mountain in Galilee. 

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, 
into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And 
when they saw him they worshiped him, but some 
doubted. (Matt. 28: 16, 17.) 

XCIII. 
Jesus Ascended from Mount Olivet. 

And when he had spoken these things, while they 
beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out 
of their sight. . . . Then returned they unto Jeru- 
salem, from the mount called Olivet. (Acts 1 : 9, 12.) 

He Ascended from Bethany. 

And he led them out as far as to Bethany; and he 
lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to 
pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them, 
and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24: 50, 51.) 

Did He Ascend from Either Place? 

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they 
sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief. 
. . . So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, 
he was received up into heaven. (Mark 16: 14, 19.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 295 

XCIV. 

Paul's Attendants Heard the Voice, and Stood 
Speechless. 

And the men which journeyed with him [Paul] 
stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man. 
(Acts 9: 7.) 

His Attendants Heard Not the Voice, and Were 
Prostrate. 

And they that were with me saw indeed the light 
and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him 
that spake to me. (Acts 22: 9.) 

And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard 
a voice. (Acts 26: 14.) 

xcv. 

Abraham Departed to Go Into Canaan. 

And Abraham took Sarah his wife, and Lot, his 
brother's son, . . . and they went forth to go 
into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan 
they came. (Gen. 12: 5.) 

Abraham Went Not Knowing Where. 

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out 
into a place which he should after receive for an in- 
heritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing 
whither he went. (Heb. 11: 8.) 



296 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

XCVI. 

Abraham Had Two Sons. 

Abraham had two sons; one by a bond-maid, the 
other by a free woman. (Gal. 4:22.) 

Abraham Had but One Son. 

By faith, Abraham when he was tried offered up 
Isaac, . . . his only begotten son. (Heb. 11: 17.) 

xcvn. 

Keturah was Abraham's Wife. 

Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name 
was Keturah. (Gen. 25: 1.) 

Keturah was Abraham's Concubine. 

The sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine. (1 
Chron. 1 : 32.) 

xcvm. 

Abraham Begat a Son when he was a Hundred Years 
Old, by the Interposition of Providence. 

Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old 
age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 
(Gen. 21:2.) 

And being not weak in the faith, he considered not 
his ow^n body, now dead, when he was about a hun- 
dred years old. (Rom. 4 : 19.) 

Therefore sprang there from one, and him as good 
as dead, so many as the stars of the sky. (Heb. 11 : 12.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 297 

Abraham Begat Six Children More After he was a 
Hundred Years Old, Without Any Interposition 
of Providence. 

Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name 
was Keturah ; and she bare him Zimram, and Jock- 
shan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 
(Gen. 25: 1, 2.) 

XCIX. 

Jacob Bought a Sepulcher of the Sons of Hamor. 

In the sepulcher that Abraham bought for a sum 
of money of the sons of Emmor, the father of Sychem. 
(Acts 7: 16.) 

C. 

God Promised the Land of Canaan to Abraham and 
His Seed. 

And the Lord said unto Abraham, . . . All the 
land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to 
thy seed forever. . . . Unto thee and to thy seed 
after thee. (Gen. 13: 14, 15; 17: 8.) 

Abraham and His Seed Never Received the Promised 

Land. 

And he gave him [Abraham] none inheritance in it, 
no, not so much as to set his foot on. (Acts 7 : 5.) 

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in 
a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac 
and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. 
. . . These all died in faith, not having received the 
promises. (Heb. 11: 9, 13.) 



298 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

CI. 

Baasha Died in the Twenty-Sixth Year of Asa. 

So Baasha slept with his fathers, . . . and 
Elah, his son, reigned in his stead. ... In the 
twenty and sixth year of Asa, king of Judah, began 
Elah to reign over Israel. (1 Kings 16: 8.) 

Baasha Did Not Die in the Twenty-Sixth Year of Asa. 

In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, 
Baasha, king of Israel, came up against Judah. (2 
Chron. 16: 1.) 

CII. 

Ahaziah was the Youngest Son of Jehoram. 

And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his 
[Jehoram's] youngest son, king in his stead ; for the 
band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp 
had slain all the eldest. (2 Chron. 22: 1.) 

Ahaziah was Not the Youngest Son of Jehoram. 

The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of 
the Philistines, and of the Arabians, . . . and they 
came up into Judah .... and carried away all the 
substance that was found in the king's house, and his 
sons also, and his wives ; so that there was never a son 
left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. (2 
Chron. 21 : 16, 17.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 299 

CIIL 

Ahaziah was Twenty-Two Years Old when he Began 
to Reign, Being Eighteen Years Younger than 
His Father. 

Thirty and two years old was he [Jehoram] when 
he began to reign ; and he reigned eight years in Jeru - 
salem. . . . And Ahaziah reigned in his stead. 
. . . Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when 
he began to reign. (2 Kings 8: 17, 24, 26.) 

Ahaziah was Forty-Two Years Old when He Began 
to Reign, Being Two Years Older Than His Fa- 
ther. 

Thirty and two years old was he [Jehoram] when 
he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight 
years. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Aha- 
ziah, his youngest son, king in his stead. Forty and 
two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, 
(2 Chron. 21: 20; 22: 1, 2.) 

CIV. 

Michal Had No Child. 

Therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no 
child unto the day of her death. (2 Sam. 6: 23.) 

Michal Had Five Children. 

The five sons of Michal, the daughter of Saul. (2 
Sam. 21 : 8.) 



300 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

cv. 

David was Tempted by the Lord to Number the 
People. 

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against 
Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, 
number Israel and Judah. (2 Sam. 24: 1.) 

David was Tempted by Satan to Number the People. 

And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked 
David to number Israel. (1 Chron. 21: 1.) 

CVI. 

There were 800,000 Warriors of Israel and 470,000 of 

Judah. 

And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the 
people unto the king; and there were in Israel eight 
hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword ; 
and the men of Judah five hundred thousand men. (2 
Sam. 24:9.) 

There were 1,100,000 of Israel and 470,000 of Judah. 

And Joab gave the sum of the number of the peo- 
ple unto David. And all they of Israel were a thou- 
sand thousand and a hundred thousand [1,100,000] 
men that drew sword; and Judah was four hundred 
threescore and ten thousand [470,000] men that drew 
sword. (1 Chron. 21 : 5.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 301 

CVII. 

David Sinned in Numbering the People. 

And David's heart smote him after that had num- 
bered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I 
have sinned greatly in that I have done. (2 Sam. 24: 
10.) 

David Never Sinned Except in the Matter of Uriah. 

David did that which was right in the eyes of the 
L/Ord, and turned not aside from anything that he 
commanded him all the days of his life, save only in 
the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (1 Kings 15: 5.) 

CVIII. 

David Slew 700 Syrian Charioteers and 40,000 
Horsemen. 

And David slew the men of the seven hundred 
chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen. 
(2 Sam. 10: 18.) 

David Slew 7,000 Syrian Charioteers and 40,000 
Footmen. 

And David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men 
which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen. 
(1 Chron. 19: 18.) 

CIX. 

David Paid for a Threshing Floor Fifty Shekels of 

Silver. 

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen 
for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Sam. 24 : 24.) 



302 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

David Paid for it Six Hundred Shekels of Gold. 

So David gave to Oman for the place six hundred 
shekels of gold. (1 Chron. 21 : 25.) 

ex. 

Goliath was Slain by David. 

And there went out a champion out of the camp of 
the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath. ... So 
David . . . smote the Philistine and slew him. (1 
Sam. 17: 4, 50.) 

Goliath was Slain by Elhanan. 

Elhanan, the son of Jaare-origim, a Bethlehemite, 
slew ["the brother of" supplied by the translators] 
Goliath the Gittite. (2 Sam. 21 : 19.) 

SPECULATIVE DOCTRINES. 

CXI. 

Christ is Equal with God. 

I and my Father are one. (John 10: 30.) 
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not rob- 
bery to be equal with God. (Phil. 2: 6.) 

Christ is Not Equal with God. 

My Father is greater than I. (John 14: 28.) 
Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the 
angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matt. 24: 36.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 303 

CXII. 

Christ Judged Men. 

The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all 
judgment to the Son. ... As I hear I judge. 
(John 5 : 20, 30.) 

Christ Judged No Man. 

I judge no man. (John 8: 15.) 

If any man hear my words and beHeve not, I judge 
him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to 
save the world. (John 12 : 47.) 

CXIII. 

Jesus was All-Powerful. 

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 
(Matt. 18: 18.) 

The Father loveth the son, and hath given all 
things into his hand. (John 3 : 35.) 

Jesus was Not All-Powerful. 

And he could there do no mighty work, save that 
he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them. 
(Mark 6: 5.) 

CXIV. 

The Law was Superseded by the Christian Dispen- 
sation. 

The law and the prophets were until John; since 
that time the kingdom of God is preached. (Luke 
16: 16.) 



304 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Having abolished in the flesh the enmity, even the 
law of commandments contained in ordinances. (Eph. 
2: 15.) 

But now we are delivered from the law. (Rom. 
7:6.) 

The Law was Not Superseded by the Christian 
Dispensation. 

I am come not to destroy but to fulfill. For verily 
I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or 
one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be 
fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these 
least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall 
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 4: 
17, 18, 19.) 

cxv. 

Christ's Mission was Peace. 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude 
of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
toward men. (Luke 2: 13, 14.) 

And thou, child, shall be called the Prophet of the 
Highest. . . . To guide our feet into the way of 
peace. (Luke 1 : 76, 79.) 

And his name shall be called . . . The Prince 
of Peace. (Is. 9: 6.) 

Christ's Mission was Not Peace. 

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth ; 

I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matt. 9: 34.) 

I am come to send fire on the earth. (Luke 12 : 49.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 305 

CXVL 

Christ Received Not Testimony from Man. 

Ye sent unto John and he bare witness unto the 
truth. But I receive not testimony from man. (John 
-5:33,34.) 

Christ Did Receive Testimony from Man. 

And ye also shall bare witness, because ye have 
been with me from the beginning. (John 15 : 27.) 

CXVII. 

Christ's Witness of Himself is True. 

I am one that bear witness of myself. . . . 
Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true. 
(John 8: 18, 14.) 

Christ's Witness of Himself is Not True. 

If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 
(John 5: 31.) 

CXVIII. 

It was Lawful for the Jews to Put Jesus to Death. 

The Jews answered him. We have a law, and by 
our law he ought to die. (John 19: 7.) 

» 
It was Not Lawful for the Jews to Put Him to Death. 

The Jews therefore said unto him. It is not lawful 
for us to put any man to death. (John 18 : 31.) 

20 



306 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

CXIX. 

Children Are Punished for the Sins of Their Parents. 

T, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the 
iniquities of the fathers upon the children. (Ex. 20: 5.) 

Because by this deed thou hast given great occa- 
sion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child 
also that is born unto thee shall surely die. (2 Sam. 
12: 14.) 

Children are Not Punished for the Sins of Their 
Parents. 

The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. 
(Ezek. 18:20.) 

Neither shall the children be put to death for the 
fathers. (Deut. 24: 16.) 

cxx. 

Man is Justified by Faith Alone. 

By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justi- 
fied. (Rom. 3:20.) 

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works 
of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. (Gal. 2: 
16.) 

The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of 
faith. (Gal. 3: 11, 12.) 

For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath 
whereof to glory. (Rom. 4:2.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 307 

Man is Not Justified by Faith Alone. 

Was not Abraham our father justified by works? 
. . . Ye see then how that by works a man is justi- 
fied, and not by faith only. (James 2 : 21, 24.) 

The doers of the law shall be justified. (Rom. 2: 
13.) 

CXXI. 

It is Impossible to Fall from Grace. 

And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall 
never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my 
hand. (John 10: 28.) 

Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principali- 
ties, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, 
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which 
is in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom. 8: 38, 39.) 

It is Possible to Fall from Grace. 

But when the righteous turneth away from his 
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth ac- 
cording to all the abominations that the wicked man 
doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath 
done shall not be mentioned; in his trespass that he 
hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in 
them shall he die. (Ezek. 18: 24.) 

For it is impossible for those who were once en- 
lightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and 
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have 
tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the 
world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them 
again unto repentance. (Heb. 6: 4-6.) 



308 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of 
the world through the knowledge of the I^ord and 
Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein- 
and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than 
the beginning. For it had been better for them not to 
have known the way of righteousness than, after they 
have known it, to turn from the holy commandment 
delivered unto them. (2 Pet. 2: 20, 21.) 

CXXII. 

No Man is Without Sin. 

For there is no man that sinneth not. (1 Kings 
8:46.) 

Who can say, I have made my heart clean ; I am 
pure from my sin? (Prov. 20: 9.) 

For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth 
good and sinneth not. (Eccl. 7:20.) 

There is none righteous, no, not one. (Rom. 3 : 10.) 

Christians are Sinless. 

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; 
. . . he cannot sin, because he is born of God. . . . 
Whatsoever abideth in him sinneth not. . . . He 
that committeth sin is of the devil. (John 3 : 9, 6, 8.) 

CXXIII. 

There is to be a Resurrection of the Dead. 

The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be 
raised. (1 Cor. 15: 52.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 309 

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God; . . . and they were judged, every man ac- 
cording to their works. (Rev. 20: 12, 13.) 

The hour is coming in the which all that are in the 
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. (John 
5 : 28, 29.) 

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. 
(1 Cor. 15: 16.) 

There is to be No Resurrection of the Dead. 

As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so 
he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no 
more. (Job. 7:9.) 

The dead know not anything, neither have they any 
more a reward. (Eccl. 9: 5.) 

They are dead ; they shall not live ; they are de- 
ceased, they shall not rise. (Is. 26: 14.) 

CXXIV. 

Reward and Punishment to be Bestowed in This 
World. 

Behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the 
earth, much more the wicked and the sinner. (Prov. 
11: 31.) 

Reward and Punishment to be Bestowed in the Next 

World. 

And the dead were judged out of those things 
which were written in the books, according to their 
works. (Rev. 20: 12.) 



310 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Then he shall reward every man according to his. 
works. (Matt. 16: 27.) 

According to that he hath done, whether it be 
good or bad. (2 Cor. 5 : 10.) 

cxxv. 

Annihilation the Portion of Mankind. 

Why died not I from the womb? Why did I not 
give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? , . . 
For now should I have lain still and been quiet; I 
should have slept ; then had I been at rest, with kings 
and counselors of the earth, which built desolate places 
for themselves ; or with princes that had gold, who 
filled their houses with silver; or as a hidden, untimely 
birth I had not been ; as infants which never saw the 
light. There the wicked cease from troubling, and 
there the weary be at rest. . . . The small and gredt 
are there, and the servant is free from his master. 
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and 
life unto the bitter in soul, which long for death, but 
it cometh not, . . . which rejoice exceedingly and 
are glad, when they can find the grave? (Job 3:11, 13- 
17, 19-22.) 

The dead know not anything. . . . For there is 
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in 
the grave whither thou goest. (Eccl. 9: 5, 10.) 

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth 
the beasts, even one thing befalleth them ; as the one 
dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one breath ; 
so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast. 
. . . All go unto one place. (Eccl. 3: 19, 20.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 311 

Endless Misery the Portion of a Part of Mankind. 

These shall go away into everlasting punishment. 
(Matt. 25 : 46.) 

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the 
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the 
false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night 
for ever and ever. . . . And whosoever was not 
found written in the book of life was cast into the lake 
of fire. (Rev. 20: 10, 15.) 

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for- 
ever and ever. (Rev. 14: 11.) 

And many of them that sleep in the dust shall 
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame 
and everlasting contempt. (Dan. 12: 2.) 

CXXVI. 

The Earth is to be Destroyed. 

The earth also and the works that are therein shall 

be burned up. (2 Peter 3 : 10.) 

They shall perish, but thou remainest. (Heb. 1 : 11.) 
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat 

on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled 

away, and there was no place found for them. (Rev. 

20: 11.) 

The Earth is Never to be Destroyed. 

Who laid the foundations of the earth that it should 
not be removed forever. (Ps. 104: 5.) 

But the earth abideth forever. (Eccl. 1 : 4.) 



312 , FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

CXXVIL 

No Evil Shall Happen to the Godly. 

There shall no evil happen to the just. (Prov. 12: 
21.) 

Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers 
of that which is good? (1 Peter 3 : 13.) 

Evil Does Happen to the Godly. 

Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and 
scourgeth every, son whom he receiveth. (Heb. 12: 6.) 

And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou consid- 
ered my servant. Job, that there is none like him in 
the earth, a perfect and an upright man? ... So 
went Satan forth . . . and smote Job with sore 
boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. (Job 2 : 

cxxvin. 

Worldly Good And Prosperity the Lot of the Godly. 

There shall no evil happen to the just. (Prov. 
12:21.) 

For the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh not 
his saints; they are preserved forever. . . . The 
wicked watcheth the righteous and seeketh to slay 
him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor 
condemn him when he is judged. . . . Mark the 
perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of 
that man is peace. (Ps. 37: 28, 32, 33, 37.) 

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel 
of the ungodly. . . . Whatsoever he doeth shall 
prosper. (Ps. 1 : 1, 3.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 313 

And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a pros- 
perous man. (Gen, 39: 2.) 

So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more 
than his beginning. (Job. 42: 12.) 

Worldly Misery and Destitution the Lot of the Godly, 

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were 
tempted, were slain with the sword ; they wandered 
about in sheep-skins and goat-skins; being destitute, 
afflicted, tormented; . . . they wandered in des- 
erts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the 
earth. (Heb. 11:37,38.) 

These are they which came out of great tribulation. 
(Rev. 7: 14.) 

Yea, and all that will live godly in Jesus Christ 
shall suffer persecution. (2 Tim. 3: 12.) 

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's 
sake. (Luke 21 : 17.) 

CXXIX. 

Worldly Prosperity a Blessing and a Reward of 
Righteousness. 

There is no man that hath left house or brethren, 
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or 
lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall re- 
ceive a hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and 
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and 
lands. (Mark 10: 29, 30.) 

I have been young, and now am old ; yet I have not 
seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging 
bread. (Ps. 37: 25.) 



314 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. . . . 
Wealth and riches shall be in his house. (Ps. 112: 
1, 3.) 

If thou return unto the Almighty, thou shalt be 
built up. . . . Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust. 
(Job 22: 23, 24.) 

In the house of the righteous is much treasure. 
(Prov. 15:6.) 

Worldly Prosperity a Curse and a Bar to Future 
Reward. 

Blessed be ye poor. (Luke 6: 20.) 

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth. 

. . For where your treasure is there will your 
heart be also. (Matt. 6: 19, 21.) 

And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was 
carried by the angels into Abraham's "bosom. (Luke 
16: 22.) 

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 
needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom 
of God. (Matt. 19:24.) 

Woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have received 
your consolation. (Luke 6: 24.) 

cxxx. 

The Christian Yoke is Easy. 

Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I "VYiH give you rest. Take my yoke upon 
you. . . . For my yoke is easy and my burden is 
light. (Matt. 11: 28-30.) 

Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of 
that which is good? (1 Pet. 3:13.) 



SELF CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 315 

The Christian Yoke is Not Easy. 

In the world ye shall have tribulation. (John 16: 
33.) 

Yea, and all that will live godly in Jesus Christ 
shall suffer persecution. (2 Tim. 3: 12.) 

Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and 
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. . . . But 
if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partak- 
ers, then are ye bastards and not sons. (Heb. 12 : 6, 8.) 

CXXXI. 

The Fruit of God's Spirit is Love and Gentleness. 

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suf- 
fering, gentleness, goodness. (Gal. 5: 22.) 

The Fruit of God's Spirit is Vengeance and Fury. 

And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. 
. . . And he . . . slew a thousand men. (Jud. 
15: 14, 15.) 

And it came to pass on the morrow that the evil 
spirit from God came upon Saul, . . . and there 
was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the jave- 
lin ; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall 
with it. (1 Sam. 18: 10, 11.) 

cxxxn. 

Prosperity and Longevity Enjoyed by the Wicked. 

Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are 
mighty in power? Their .seed is established in their 



316 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. 
Their houses are safe from fear. (Job 21 : 7, 8, 9.) 

They [men of the world] are full of children and 
leave the rest of their substance to their babes. (Ps. 
17:14.) 

I was envious at the foolish when I saw the pros- 
perity of the wicked. . . . They are not in trouble 
as other men. . . . Behold, these are the ungodly 
who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. 
(Ps. 73: 3, 5, 12.) 

There is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in 
his wickedness. (Eccl. 7: 15.) 

Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? 
Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacher- 
ously? (Jer. 12: 1.) 

Prosperity and Longevity Denied to the Wicked. 

The light of the wicked shall be put out. . . . 
Terrors shall make him afraid on every side. . . . 
He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased 
out of the world. He shall neither have son nor 
nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his 
dwellings. (Job 18: 5, 12, 18, 19.) 

But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither 
shall he prolong his days. (Eccl. 8: 23.) 

Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half 
their days. (Ps. 55: 23.) 

The years of the wicked shall be shortened. (Prov. 
10:27.) 

They [the hypocrites] die in youth. (Job 36: 14.) 

Be not over much wicked, neither be foolish; why 
shouldst thou die before thy time? (Eccl. 7: 17.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 317 

CXXXIIL 

Poverty is a Blessing. 

Blessed be ye poor. . . . Woe unto y.ou that 
are rich! (Luke 6: 20, 24.) 

Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich 
in faith, and heirs of the kingdom? (James 2: 5.) 

Riches a Blessing. 

The rich man's wealth is his strong tower, but the 
destruction of the poor is their poverty. (Prov. 10: 
IS.) 

If thou return unto the Almighty, then thou shalt 
be built up. . . . Thou shalt then lay up gold as 
dust. (Job 22: 23, 24.) 

So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more 
than his beginning, for he had 14,000 sheep, and 6,000 
camels and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand 
she asses. (Job 42: 12.) 

Neither Poverty Nor Riches a Blessing. 

Give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with 
food convenient for me; lest I be full and deny thee, 
and say. Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal, 
and take the name of my God in vain. (Prov. 30 : 8, 9.) 

CXXXIV. 

Wisdom a Source of Enjoyment. 

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom. . . . 
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths 
are peace. (Prov. 3: 13, 17.) 



318 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Wisdom a Source of Vexation, Grief, and Sorrow. 

And I gave my heart to know wisdom. ... I 
.perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in 
much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth 
knowledge, increaseth sorrow. (Eccl. 1 : 17, 18.) 

cxxxv. 

A Good Name a Blessing. 

A good name is better than precious ointment. 
(Eccl. 7: 1.) 

A good name is rather to be chosen than great 
riches. (Prov. 22: 1.) 

A Good Name is a Curse. 

Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. 
(Luke 6: 26.) 

CXXXVI. 

Laughter Commended. 

-To everything there is a season, and a time. . . . 
A time to weepand a time to laugh. (Eccl. 3 : 1, 4.) 

Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no 
better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink, 
and to be merry. (Eccl. 8: 15.) 

A merry heart doeth good, like a medicine. (Prov. 
17: 22.) 

Laughter Condemned. 

Woe unto you that laugh now. (Luke 6: 25.) 
Sorrow is better than laughter ; for by the sadness 
of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart 
of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart 
of fools is in the house of mirth. (Eccl. 7: 3, 4.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 319 

CXXXVIL 

The Rod of Correction a Remedy for Foolishness. 

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but 
the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. 
(Prov. 22: 15.) 

There is No Remedy for Foolishness. 

Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar,. . . . 
yet will not his foolishness depart from him. (Prov. 
27: 22.) 

CXXXVIII. 

Temptation to be Desired. 

Count it all joy when ye fall into divers tempta- 
tions. (James 1 : 2.) 

Temptation Not to be Desired. 

Lead us not into temptation. (Matt. 6: 13.) 

CXXXIX. 

Prophecy is Sure. 

We have also a more sure word of prophecy, where- 
unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that 
shineth in a dark place. (2 Pet. 1 : 19.) 

Prophecy is Not Sure. 

At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, 
and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull 
down, and to destroy it ; if that nation against whom 



320 FACTS TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent 
of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at 
what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and con- 
cerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do 
evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will 
repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit 
them. (Jer. 18: 7-10.) 

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear 
rule by their means. . . . From the prophet even 
unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. (Jer. 5:31; 
6: 13.) 

CXL. 

Man's Life was to be One Hundred and Twenty Years. 

His days shall be a hundred and twenty years. 
(Gen. 6:3.) 

Man's Life is but Seventy Years. 

The days of our years are threescore years and ten. 
Ps. 90: 10.) 

CXLI. 

Miracles a Proof of Divine Mission. 

Now, when John had heard in the prison the works 
of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto 
him. Art thou he that should come, or do we look for 
another? Jesus answered and said unto them. Go and 
show John again those things which ye do hear 
and see; the blind receive their sight, and the lame 
walk, and the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, 
and the dead are raised. (Matt. 11 : 2-5.) 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 321 

Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from 
God ; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, 
except God be with him. (John 3 : 2.) 

And Israel saw that great work which the Lord 
did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the 
Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. 
(Ex. 14:3i:) 

Miracles Not a Proof of Divine Mission. 

And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and 
before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then 
Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. 
Now, the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like 
manner with their enchantments, for they cast down 
every man his rod, and they became serpents. (Ex. 
7:10-12.) 

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of 
dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the 
sign or the wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto 
thee, saying, Let us go after other gods which thou 
hast not known, and let us serve them, thou shalt not 
hearken unto the words of that prophet or that dream- 
er of dreams. (Deut. 8: 1-3.) 

If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do our 
sons cast them out? (Luke 11: 19.) 

CXLII. 

Moses was a Very Meek Man. 

Now, the man Moses was very meek, above all the 
men which were upon the face of the earth. (Num. 
12: 3.) 

21 



322 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Moses was a Very Cruel Man. 

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the 
women alive? . . . Now, therefore, kill every 
male among the little ones, and kill every woman that 
hath known man. (Num. 31 : 15, 17.) 

CXLIII. 

Elijah Went Up to Heaven. 

And Elijah went up by a whirlwind unto heaven. 
(2 Kings 2:11.) 

None but Christ Ever Ascended Into Heaven. 

No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he' that 
came down from heaven, even the Son of Man. (John 
3:13.) 

CXLIV. 

All Scripture is Inspired. 

All scripture is given by inspiration of God. (2 
Tim. 3 : 16.) 

Some Scripture is Not Inspired. 

But I speak this by permission and not by com- 
mandment. . . . But to the rest speak I, not the 
Lord. (1 Cor. 7:6; 5: 12.) 

That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord. 
(2 Cor. 11: 17.) 

Recapitulation. 

And God saw everything that he had made, and 
behold it v/as very good. . . . And it repented the 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 323 

Lord that he had made man, and it grieved him at his 
heart. 

And the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, I have 
chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. 
. . . Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in tem- 
ples made with hands. 

Clouds and darkness are round about him. . . . 
Dwelling in the light, which no man can approach 
unto. 

I have seen God face to face. . . . No man hath 
seen God at any time. ... I saw the Lord sitting 
upon a throne. . . ., Whom no man hath seen, nor 
can see. . . . Thou shalt see my back parts. — And 
the Lord called unto Adam ; and Adam said, I heard 
thy voice and was afraid. . . . Ye have neither 
heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape. 

And on the seventh day the Lord rested and was 
refreshed. . . . The Lord, the Creator, fainteth 
not, neither is weary. 

The eyes of the Lord are in every place. . . . 
And the Lord said, I will go down now and see. And 
the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. 
. . . There is no darkness where the workers of 
iniquity may hide themselves. . . . And Adam 
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the 
Lord amongst the trees of the garden. 

Thou, Lord, knowest the hearts of all men. . . . 
The Lord proveth you to know whether ye love the 
Lord. . . . Thou art acquainted with all my ways. 
. . . For now I know that thou fearest Grod, seeing 
that thou hast not withheld thine only son from me. 

With God all things are possible. . . . And the 
Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhab- 



324 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

itants of the mountain ; but could not drive out the in- 
habitants of the valley, because they had chariots of 
iron. 

I am the Lord, I change not. I will not go back, 
neither will I repent. . . . And God repented of 
the evil that he said he would do unto them, and he 
did it not. 

The Lord is upright, and there is no unrighteous- 
ness in him. . -. . Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of 
servants shall he be. . . . There is no respect of 
persons with God. . . . Jacob have I loved, but 
Esau have I hated. ... Is not my way equal? 
. . . For whosoever hath, to him shall be given ; but 
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away 
even that he hath. . . . Shall not the judge of all 
the earth do right? . . . For I am a jealcus God, 
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. 
. . . A God of truth, and without iniquity. . . . 
Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil 
and good? . . . Good and upright is the Lord. 
. . . I make peace and create evil. . . . For God 
cannot be tempted with evil. . . . Thus saith the 
Lord, I frame evil and devise a device against you. 

Those that seek me early shall find me. . . . 
They shall seek me early but shall not find me. 

The Lord is a man of war. . . . God is love. 
. . . The Lord of hosts. . . . The God of peace. 

The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. . . . 
I will not pity nor spare, nor have mercy. . . . He 
doth not affiict willingly, nor grieve the children of 
men. . . . Thou shalt consume all the people 
which the Lord thy God shall deliver unto thee ; thine 
eye shall have no pity upon them. . . . For his 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 325 

mercy endureth forever. . . . Now go and smite 
Amalek; slay both man and woman, infant and suck- 
ling. . . . The Lord is slow to anger. His anger 
endureth but a moment. . . . And the Lord's an- 
ger was kindled against Israel, and he made them 
wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the 
generation that had done evil was consumed. For T 
have kindled a fire in my anger which shall burn for- 
ever. 

Thou shalt of¥er every day a bullock for a sin-of- 
fering. . . . Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink 
the blood of goats? ... Ye shall offer an offer- 
ing made by fire unto the Lord. . . . Your burnt 
offerings are not acceptable. . . . It is a sweet 
savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. . . . 
Nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. . . . And the 
priest shall burn it all on the altar, to be a burnt 
sacrifice. ... I spake not unto your fathers, nor 
commanded them in the day that I brought them out 
of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or 
sacrifices. Bring no more vain oblations ; incense is 
an abomination unto me. . . . There shall be a 
day of atonement ; it shall be a holy convocation. . . 
The calling of assemblies I cannot away with ; it is 
iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 

And God said, Take now thy son, thine only son 
whom thou lovest, and offer him for a burnt offering. 
. . . For every abomination to the Lord, which he 
hateth, have they done; for even their sons and their 
daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods. 

And it came to pass that God did tempt Abraham. 
. . . Let no man say when he is tempted, I am 



326 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, 
neither tempteth he any man. 

God is not a man that he should lie. ... If the 
prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I 
the Lord have deceived that prophet. ... It was 
impossible for God to lie. . . . The Lord hath put 
a lying spirit into the mouth of all these thy prophets. 

Cans't thou by searching find out God? . . '. 
The . invisible things of him from the creation are 
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are 
made, even the eternal power and Godhead. 

And God said, Behold the man is become as one of 
us. . . . The Lord our God is one Lord. 

When ye go ye shall not go empty; but every 
woman shall borrow of her neighbor and of her that 
sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver and jewels of 
gold, and raiment, and ye shall put them upon your 
sons and upon your daughters ; and ye shall spoil the 
Egyptians. . . . Thou shalt not steal. . . . 
And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver 
and jewels of gold, and raiment. And they spoiled the 
Egyptians. . . . Thou shalt not defraud thy neigh- 
bor, neither rob him. 

And the woman [Rahab] took the two men and hid 
them and said thus : There came men unto me, but I 
wist not whence they were ; and it came to pass about 
the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that 
the men went out; pursue after them quickly for ye 
shall overtake them. . . . Thou shalt not bear 
false witness. . . . Was not Rahab, the harlot, 
justified by works when she had received the messen- 
gers and had sent them out another w^ay?. . . . 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 327 

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. . . . 
And there came forth a spirit and stood before the 
Lord and said, I will go forth and be a lying spirit in 
the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Go forth 
and do so. . . . It was impossible for God to lie. 
. . . And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, The 
Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women ; for 
they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives 
come in unto them. Therefore God dealt well with the 
midwives. . . . All liars shall have their lot in 
the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. 

Thus saith the Lord, Put every man his sword at 
his side and go in and out from gate to gate through- 
out the camp, and slay every man his brother and 
every man his companion and every man his neighbor. 
... Thou shalt not kill. 

Who sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood 
be shed. ... And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, 
lest any finding him should kill him. 

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, 
nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above 
or that is in the earth beneath. . . . Thou shalt 
make two eherubims of gold. And the cherubims 
shall stretch forth their wings on high covering the 
mercy seat, and their faces shall look one to another. 
Of the children of the strangers that do sojourn 
among you, of them shall ye buy. They shall be your 
bondmen forever. ... Thou shalt neither vex a 
stranger or oppress him. ... I will sell your sons 
and daughters into the hands of the children of Ju- 
dah ; and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a 
people afar off; for the Lord has spoken it. . . . He 
that stealeth a man and selleth him, or if he be found 



328 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. . . . 
Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be. 
... . Undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go 
free, break every yoke. 

Take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or, 
What shall we drink? or. Wherewithal shall yvq be 

clothed. Take no thought for the morrow 

But if any provide not for his own, and especially for 
those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and 
is worse than an infidel. . . . Give to every man 
that asketh of thee, and of him that taketh away thy 
goods, ask them not again. And lend, hoping for noth- 
ing again. ... A good man leaveth an inheri- 
tance to his children's children. 

Be ye angry and sin not. . . . Anger resteth 
in the bosom of fools. 

Let your light so shine before men that they may 
see your good works. . . . Take heed that ye do 
not your alms before men to be seen of them. 

Judge not that ye be not judged. . . . Know ye 
not that we shall judge angels? How much more things 
that pertain to this life? 

Resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on 
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. . . . 
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he 
drove them all out of the temple. . . . All they 
that take the sword shall perish with the sword. ... 
He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and 
buy one. 

Be not afraid of them that kill the body. . . . 
And after these things Jesus would not walk in Jewry, 
because the Jews sought to kill him. 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 329 

And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in 
the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and 
spread forth his hands towards heaven. And [after he 
had prayed] the Lord said, I have heard thy prayer. 
. . . When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the 
hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the 
synagogues, that they may be seen of men ; but enter 
into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray 
to thy Father which is in secret. 

Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 
. . . If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you 
nothing. 

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. . . . 
The new moons and sabbaths I cannot away with ; it 
is iniquity. . . . My sabbaths ye shall keep. . . . 
Let no man judge you in respect of a holy day, or of 
the sabbath days. 

In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and 
rested on the seventh day ; wherefore the Lord blessed 
the Sabbath day and hallowed it. . . . And re- 
member that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, 
and that the Lord thy God brought thee out hence 
through a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm ; 
therefore the Lord commanded thee to keep the Sab- 
bath day. 

Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day he 
shall surely be put to death. . . . Therefore did 
the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him, be- 
cause he had done these things on the Sabbath day. 

Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing 
them. . . . Christ sent me not to baptize, but to 
preach the gospel. 



330 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Every moving thing that liveth shall he meat for 
you. . . . Nevertheless these ye shall not eat: the 
camel, the hare, and the coney. . . . There is noth- 
ing unclean of itself. . . . The swine, because it 
cheweth not the cud, is unclean. . . . Whatsoever 
is sold in the shambles, that eat. . . . Ye shall not 
eat their flesh. 

If a man swear an oath, he shall not break his 
word ; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out 
of his mouth. . . . But I say unto you, Swear not 
at all. 

Marriage is honorable to all. . . . It is good for 
a man not to touch a woman. . . . For this cause 
shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave 
unto his wife. ... I [Paul] would that all men 
were even as I. 

When a man hath taken a wife and it come to 
pass that she find no favor in his eye, then let him 
write her a bill of divorcement and send her out of 
his house. . . . Whoever shall put away his wife, 
saving for fornication, causeth her to commit adul- 
tery. . . . All the women children keep alive for 
yourselves. . . . Thou shalt not commit adul- 
tery. . . . Then said the Lord unto me, go yet, 
love a woman, an adulteress. . . . Whoremongers 
and adulterers God will judge. 

If brethren dwell together and one of them die, 
the wife of the dead shall not marry without; her 
husband's brother shall take her to wife. ... If 
a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean 
thing. 

If any man hate not his father, and mother, and 
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, he cannot 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 331 

be my disciple. . . Honor thy father and mother ; 
husbands, love your wives. Whosoever hateth his 
brother is a murderer. 

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, 
and wine to those that be of heavy heart. . . . 
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging. . . . 
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine, — that 
cheereth God and man. . . . Look not thou upon 
the wine. . . . Wine maketh glad the heart. . . . 
At last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an 
adder. 

I counsel thee to keep the king's command- 
ment. . . . But the midwives feared God, and did 
not as the king commanded. . . . Submit your- 
selves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake ; 
whether it be the king as supreme, or unto governors 
that are sent of him for the punishment of evil- 
doers. . . . Now when Daniel knew that the writ- 
ing was signed [that whosoever shall ask a petition 
of any god for thirty days, he shall be cast into the 
den of lions] he went into his house and kneeled upon 
his knees three times a day, and prayed, as he did 
aforetime. . . .The SQribes and Pharisees sit in 
Moses' seat ; all things therefore whatsoever they bid 
you observe, that observe and do. . . . Beware 
of the Scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and 
love salutations in the market-places, and the chief 
seats in the synagogues. These shall receive greater 
damnation. . . . Let every soul be subject to the 
higher powers. . . . Shadrach, Meshac, and Abed- 
nego answered and said. Be it known unto thee, O 
king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship 
the golden image which thou has set up. . . . 



332 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Whosoever therefor resisteth the power, resisteth 
the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall 
receive to themselves damnation. . . . Then 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of 
the midst of the fire, upon whose bodies the fire had 
no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither 
were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had 
passed on them. . . . Whoso keepeth the king's 
commandment shall fear no evil thing. . . . There- 
fore God dealt well with the midwives — and deliv- 
ered Daniel out of the power of lions. . . . For 
rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. 
. . . And the rulers were gathered together against 
the Lord and against his Christ. . . . The powers 
that be are ordained of God. . . . Both Herod and 
Pontius Pilate. . . . For they are God's minis- 
ters. . . . And Herod set him at naught and 
mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and 
sent him again to Pilate. And Pilate gave sentence. 
And they crucified him. And the rulers also derided 
him. 

And Deborah, a prophetess, judged Israel. . . . 
They are commanded to be in obedience, as also saith 
the Law. Even as Sara obeyed Abraham. . . .The 
inhabitants of the villages ceased in Israel until De- 
borah arose. . . . Thy desire shall, be thy hus- 
band, and he shall rule over thee. . . . And on my 
hand-maidens I will pour out my spirit and they shall 
prophesy. . . . I suffer not a woman to teach, but 
to be in silence. 

Servants obey in all things your masters. . . . 
Be ye not the servants of men. . , . Be subject to 
your masters with all fear; not only to the good and 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 333 

gentle, but also to the froward. . . . Thou shalt 
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou 
serve. 

He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost 
hath never forgiveness. , . . All that believe are 
justified from all things. 



And the Lord said unto Noah, Of every clean beast 
thou shalt take to thee by sevens. And Noah did ac- 
cording to all that the Lord commanded him. . . . 
Of clean beasts there went in two and two into the 
Ark as God had commanded Noah. 

While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest 
shall not cease. . . . For these two years hath fa- 
mine been in the land, and yet there are five years in 
which there shall be neither earing nor harvest. And 
the famine was over all the face of the earth. 

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. 
. . . But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, 
he hardened his heart. 

And all the cattle of Egypt died. . . . But the 
Egyptians pursued after them — all the horses and char- 
iots of Pharaoh. 

This is Elias which was to come. . . . And 
they asked him, 'Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am 
not. 

And immediately [after Christ's baptism] the spirit 
driveth him into the wilderness ; and he was there forty 
days, tempted of Satan. . . . And the third day 
[after Christ's baptism] there was a marriage in Cana 
of Galilee. Both Jesus was called and his disciples to 
the marriage. 



334 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Provide neither gold nor silver nor scrip for your 
journey, neither shoes nor yet staves. . . . Take 
nothing save a staff only ; no scrip, no bread, no money, 
but be shod with sandals. 

And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 
. . . It was about the sixth hour, and he saith. Shall 
I crucify your king? 

And they that were crucified reviled him. . . . 
And one of the malefactors railed on him ; but the other 
rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God? 

They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall. 
... They gave wine mingled with myrrh. 

Then Satan entered into Judas, and he went and 
communed with the chief priests how he might be- 
tray him. . . . And after the sop Satan entered 
into him. 

And he went and hanged himself. . . . And 
falling headlong he burst asunder and all his bowels 
gushed out. 

Now this man purchased a field with the reward 
of iniquity. . . . The chief priests took the silver 
pieces and bought the potter's field. 

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene 
unto the sepulcher. . . . The first day of the week 
came Mary Magdalen, and the other Mary. . . . 
Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, and 
Salome brought sweet spices. ... It was Mary 
Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, and other 
women that were with them. 

They came at the rising of the sun. . . . While 
it was yet dark. 

And entering into the sepulcher they saw a young 
man, clothed in a long white garment. . . . And 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 335 

she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher and 
seeth two angels in white. ... For the angel of 
the Lord descended from heaven, arid came and rolled 
back the stone from the door and sat upon it. Be- 
hold two men stood by them in shining garments. 
. . . And they did run to bring the disciples word. 
. . . Neither said they anything to any man. 

And he led them out as far as Bethany, and he 
lifted up his hands and blessed them. And while he 
blessed them he was parted from them and carried up 
into heaven. . . . And while they beheld, he was 
taken up. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from 
the mount called Olivet. 

And the men which journeyed with him [Paul] 
stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 
. . . And when we were all fallen to the earth, I 
heard a voice. And they that were with me heard not 
the voice. 

Abraham had two sons. . . . By faith Abra- 
ham offered up Isaac, his only begotten son. 

Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name 
was Keturah. . . . Keturah, Abraham's concu- 
bine. 

Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old 
age. And not being weak in the faith, he considered 
not his own body, now dead, when he was about a 
hundred years old. . . . Then again Abraham 
took a wife and she bare him Zimram, and Jokshan, 
and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 

And the Lord said unto Abraham, All the land 
which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed 
forever. . . . And he gave him none inheritance, 
no, not so much as to set his foot on. He sojourned 



336 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwell- 
ing in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him 
of the same promise. These all died, not having re- 
ceived the promises. 

Therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no 
child unto th^ day of her death. . . . The five sons 
of Michal, the daughter of Saul. 

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against 
Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, 
number Israel. . . . And Satan provoked David 
to number Israel. 

And David's heart smote him after he had num- 
bered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I 
have sinned greatly in that I have done. . . . Da- 
vid did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord 
all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah 
the liittite. 

So David smote the Philistine and slew him. . . . 
Elhanan slew Goliah the Gittite. 

I and my Father are one. . . . My Father is 
greater than I. . . . Who thought it not robbery 
to be equal with God. ... Of that day and hour 
knoweth my Father only. 

All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. 
. . . And he could there do no mighty work. 

I am come not to destroy the law but to fulfill. 
. . . Now we are delivered from the law. . . . 
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall 
in nowise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. . . . 
Having abolished the law of commandments contained 
in ordinances. 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 33? 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace. 
. . . I came not to send peace but a sword. . . 
The Prince of Peace. ... I am come to send fire 
on the earth. 

I receive not testimony from man. . . . And 
ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with 
me from the beginning. 

I bear witness of myself yet my record is true. 
. . . If I bear witness of myself my witness is not 
true. 

The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by 
our law he ought to die. . . . The Jews said unto 
him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. 

I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the 
fathers upon the children. . . . The son shall not 
bear the iniquity of the father. 

By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. 
. . . The doers of the law shall be justified. . . . 
A man is not justified by the works of the law. . . . 
Was not Abraham justified by works? . . . For if 
Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to 
glory. ... Ye see then how that by works a 
man is justified. 

I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never 
perish, neither shall they pluck them out of my hand. 
. . . But when the righteous man turneth away 
from his righteousness and committeth iniquity, in his 
trespass and in his sin shall he die. . . . Neither 
death, nor life, nor things present nor things to come, 
nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall 
be able to separate us from the love of God. . . . 
For it is impossible for those who were once enlight- 

22 



338 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

ened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made 
partakers of the Holy Ghost, if they shall fall away, 
to renew them again unto repentance. 

There is no man that sinneth not. . . . Whoso- 
ever is born of God doth not commit sin. . . . 
There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and 
sinneth not. . . . He that committeth sin is of 
the devil. 

The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be 
raised. . . . He that goeth down to the grave shall 
come up no more. ... I saw the dead, small and 
great, stand before God, and they were judged every 
man according to their works. . . . The dead 
know not anything, neither have they any more a re- 
ward. . . . For if the dead rise not, then is not 
Christ raised. . . . They are dead, they shall not 
live; they are deceased, they shall not rise. 

That which befalleth the sons of men befalleth 
the beasts ; as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; all go 
to one place. . . . These shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. 
. . . Why died I not from the womb? Then I had 
been at rest, with kings and counselors of the earth, 
or with princes ; or as a hidden untimely birth I had 
not been, as infants which never saw the light. There 
the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are 
at rest. . . . And many of them that sleep in the 
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, 
and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 

The earth also and the works that are therein shall 
be burned up. . . . The earth abideth forever. 
. . . The earth and the heaven fled away and there 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 339 

was no place found for them. . . . Who laid the 
foundations of the earth that it should not be removed 
forever. 

Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of 
that which is good? . . . And the L^ord said unto 
Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that 
there is none like him, a perfect and an upright man? 
So went Satan forth and smote Job with sore boils 
from the sole of his foot unto his crown. . . . 
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of 
the ungodly. Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 
. . . All that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall 
suffer persecution. . . r There shall be no evil hap- 
pen to the just. . . . Ye shall be hated of all men 
for my name's sake. . . , Mark the perfect man 
and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is 
peace. . . . They were stoned, they were sawn 
asunder, they were tempted, were slain with the 
sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat- 
skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wan- 
dered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and 
caves of the earth. 

- Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. Wealth 
and riches shall be in his house. . . . Blessed be 
ye poor. ... In the house of the righteous is 
much treasure. . . . Lay not up for yourselves 
treasures upon earth. ... I have been young and 
now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous for- 
saken nor his seed begging bread. . . And the 
beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abra- 
ham's bosom. . . .If thou return to the Almighty, 
then shalt thou lay up gold as dust. 



S40 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

My yoke is easy and my burden is light. . . . 
All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 
persecution. 

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, gentle- 
ness, and goodness. . . . And the spirit of the 
Lord came upon him, and he slew a thousand men. 

It shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he 
prolong his days. . . . Wherefore do the wicked 
live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? . . . 
Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their 
days. . . . There is a wicked man that prolongeth 
his life. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper. 

The rich man's wealth is his strong tower, but the 
destruction of the poor is his poverty. . . . Woe 
unto you that are rich ! Blessed be ye poor. . . . 
Give me neither poverty nor riches, lest I deny thee, 
or lest I be poor and steal. 

Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all 
her paths are peace. ... In much wisdom is much 
grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sor- 
row. 

A good name is better than precious ointment. 
. . • . Woe unto you when all men speak well of 
you. 

To everything there is a season and a time. A 
time to weep and a time to laugh. . . . Woe unto 
you that laugh now. . . . Then I commended 
mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the 
sun than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry. . . . 
Sorrow is better than laughter ; the heart of the fool is 
the house of mirth. 

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but 
the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. . . , 



SELF-CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE. 341 

Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar, yet will 
not his foolishness depart from him. 

Count it all joy when ye fall into divers tempta- 
tions. . . . Lead us not into temptation. 

His days shall be a hundred and twenty years. 
. . . The days of our years are three-score and ten. 

And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did 
upon the Egyptians, and believed the Lord and his 
servant Moses. . . . Now the magicians of Egypt 
also did in like manner, for they cast down every man 
his rod, and they became serpents. 

Elijah went up into heaven. ... No man hath 
ascended up to heaven but the Son of Man. 

All scripture is given by inspiration of God. . . . 
That which I speak, I speak it after the Lord. 

What a jumble of inconsistency of telling lies, and 
then have the cheek and impudence to stand right up 
and acknowledge that what the scripture said in the 
first instance was not the truth, but unmitigated lies. 
Then go to the Godworshipers' Churches, and hear the 
priests and preachers tell the church dupes that every 
word in the old Hebrew and Christian Bible is solid 
truths. When they know at that very time- that they 
are lying, and falsifying the truth in order to get money 
and wealth from the ignorant people without labor or 
making an honest return for what in that way they 
get. If the priests and preachers would only tell the 
people what they know to be the truth and only the 
truth, the human race would be happy. Assertions 
when contradicted are lies anywhere in the bible 
found. 



342 

CHAPTER 27. 

In this book, page 61, it is there shown that the 
Western Hemisphere* was the first to be raised above 
the ocean, and before that event, all the exposed lands 
were on the great continents around the poles, where 
the people were originated with the climate tropical 
and all surroundings good, but after the great erup- 
tion, the climate became frigid, which caused the peo- 
ple and other animal life to migrate toward and to the 
Equator. These people inhabited a goodly portion of 
South America, Central America, Mexico, and the 
United States, as shown by their human tracks made 
in the then soft, unhardened stone over extensive re- 
gions, with the ocean water several hundred feet less 
in depth than now, as human bones and river channels 
are found many feet below the present ocean waters. 
See pages 46 and 47. These primitive people of the 
Western Hemisphere, influenced by priestcraft, idolatry 
to worship and sacrifice human beings to an imaginary 
man God represented by stone images decorated with 
hideous serpents, and they were still carrying on this 
most absurd and detestable human sacrifice and wor- 
ship of their imaginary man God when America was 
discovered. On one altar in Mexico 70,000 persons 
were slaughtered at one time, until the blood flowed 
a cataract down the stairways. These ancient people 
believed through their blind ignorance in such modes 
of worship, and still we can and do now see the people 
so blind and ignorant that they hang on the cross pic- 
tures of Christ, Mother Mary, Mohammed and Buddha 
as breast pins, and post them in their churches. Sure 
ignorance is the curse of the world, and finite intelli- 
gence is the saving grace. These first great people of 



THE BIBLE NOT A MORAL GUIDE. 343 

the Western Hemisphere were carving the then soft 
and unhardened stone building, cities, temples, 
altars for sacrifice, and images to worship, prob- 
ably 50,000 years before the Eastern Hemisphere 
was raised above the ocean, and furnished the 
cross, human worship, human sacrifice, and other 
idolatry to the Eastern Hemisphere, probably more 
than ten thousand years before the much adored lying 
Genesis Fable was ever thought of. Everything that 
can be seen in the Infinite unlimited ethereal space 
show^s that Genesis is a lie. Every mark showing the 
great age of the earth shows Genesis to be a lie. The 
Infinite Ethereal space proves Genesis to be a lie. 
The existence of duration, heat and matter all show 
Genesis to be a lie. In the beginning, *'God created 
the heavens and earth." Lie. If there was any begin- 
ning at all, it was when God began, not when God be- 
gan to work. If there was a God there ready to begin 
work, then the beginning was when God began, not 
when God commenced to Vv^ork. So the first sentence 
is a lie, and that is the key-note to the whole of the old 
Hebrew Bible, based on falsehood, forgeries, decep- 
tions and lies, and is unbelievable, and unworthy of 
belief, and still we hear the swads, good-a-goody peo- 
ple, bumpkins, henchmen, procurers for the priest 
and preachers loudly prating that this Hebrew and 
Christian Bible is God's words, God's truths. And the 
same can be said of all the man God worshipers. What 
could God ever have done without space, without du- 
ration (time), without caloric (heat), without matter 
(material), but the man God worshiper say God just 
spoke all these things into existence. Then who spoke 
God into existence? Man spoke human worship into 
existence that the truth. 



344 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The atmosphere at the present time all around the 
earth extends outward from the earth's surface ap- 
proximately about fifty miles from the earth, and in 
the early history of the earth it likely extended more 
than double that distance outward from the earth, as 
all the carbon in coal, vegetation and animal life was in 
the atmosphere as well as all the water now a part of 
the earth and enough water yet left in the atmosphere 
to cover the whole earth thirty-four feet in depth at 
this date, so that in computing the extent of the atmos- 
phere by arithmetical ratio now would fail when ap- 
plied to antiquity, as it is likely that the atmosphere 
in the early history of the earth was more than double 
the weight and density at this date,, and so much so 
that no lung breathing animals could live on the earth 
until after the coal measures had been formed. Gravi- 
tation attraction of the earth and all other planets is 
an Eternal Thing extending a limited distance in the 
Infinite Ethereal space from all spheroidical bodies and 
it is likely that a great portion of this space where great 
caloric bodies exist and planets and comets speed their 
orbits is hot and planets passing through such space 
until they come near the great caloric bodies are pro- 
tected by the cold in the vaulted atmosphere surround- 
ing them (See page 45 and 46.) but when the earth and 
other planets are unformed and reformed then 
the heat is incandescent caloric, and comets being 
caloric bodies as they speed through this great heated 
region they become incandescent caloric, and are con- 
verted into aeriform fluid, as they near the Sun, so 
they make little or no shade when passing the Sun's 
disk. (See page 69.) The seeming grand purpose of 
the speeding great comets through hot regions of 



THE BIBLE NOT A MORAL GUIDE. 345 

Infinite Ethereal space is to absorb heat from the Sun 
and other great caloric bodies and discharge the same 
into Ethereal Space on the line of their orbits. It will 
be noticed that none of these comets (flying messen- 
gers) ever visit the region of the North Star (the north 
place and the empty place), and if they did they would 
disappear like a taper thrown in the ocean. The Sun 
is a positive magnetic caloric body absorbing and dis- 
charging heat. The North Star is a magnetic phos- 
phorescent cold body absorbing and discharging cold 
and by the force of its magnetism or magnetic cur- 
rents governing the magnetic meridian, the magnetic 
needle, the orbital motion of all the planets in our uni- 
verse and regulating their seasons as well as their 
atmospheres or the air we breathe. There can be no 
positive except there is a negative. The Sun is the 
positive. The North Star is the negative. Gravitation 
attraction is positive attraction and repulsion is the 
negative of attraction, and when these forces are equal 
there is no action, and this is the status of nebula 
existence. (See pages 48 and 49.) 

A part of the Eternal Ethereal space and Infinitude 
is hot and a part is cold. It is in the great hot region 
where all changes takes place in matter or material 
things, such as the unforming and reforming of all 
spheroidical bodies, as well as their orbital motion, 
when the negative cold region around the North Star 
assume control and govern. It is the hot place and the 
cold place that makes the present status of all things 
pos.sible. (See page 70.) 



346 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

A truthful definition of God is best, and has the ef- 
fect to remove the ignorant comprehension of God by 
the whole human race coming from the great past, and 
forever concealing the ignorant idea of a man God with 
Gender, passions and all attributes common to all man- 
kind. Such an idea of God is misleading, unreasonable, 
unscientific, and its only basis is ignorance. Every 
human being has a part of God in them. A part or the 
finite can never equal the infinite. A part of any thing 
can never equal nor exceed the whole thing. (Geome- 
try.) We finite beings can never fully comprehend the 
infinite God. Every thing that has life in ;t has some 
of God in it. All the intelligence of the world is finite 
intelligence, and can not equal or comprehend the 
Great Supreme Infinite Intelligence God, nor any of 
the other eternal things. All are forever beyond the 
reach of the finite. We can, without a doubt, compre- 
hend the existence of the eternal things, and to some 
extent their sphere of action, force and power. The' 
great Infinite Intelligence God that fills all Infinitude, 
duration and matter, and by Infinite impulse govern- 
ing and controlling in harmony all the other Eternal 
things, can not be condensed or embodied in any one 
form or place, but exist equally in every place through 
all Infinitude. All action of the great Infinite Intelli- 
gence God is an Infinite action, not a finite action in 
answer to wants and prayers. Wants and prayers of 
the human race has never been answered and never 
will be answered. All wantings, prayers, asking, 
beseeching and imploring the Infinite Intelligence God 
for things desired is not now or ever has been an- 
swered. All the homage, all the supplication, all the 
adoration, all the glory, and all the glorification of and 



THE BIBLE NOT A MORAL GUIDE. 347 

to God is simply an unwise lot of priest and preacher- 
craft, foolish, erroneous twaddle. God being Infinite 
in perfection and supreme in Infinite attributes, can re- 
ceive nothing of that nature, nothing from a finite be- 
ing on this earth or from any other of the millions of 
planets in the Eternal Ethereal space and Infinitude. 
All such performance is time and labor wasted, wasted 
on an imaginary man God that does not now exist, nor 
never has existed. My fear of hell has no existence, 
and my expectation of future reward has no existence, 
as Heaven and Hell, being wholly imaginary, can 
not have any existence. The school house is the great- 
est human attainment. A church or place for human 
worship is a nuisance. Sunday is a detestable hum- 
bug, invented by priest and preachercraft to get a liv- 
ing and support from the misinformed, untaught, unin- 
telligent, ignorant people and church dupes, the more 
ignorant the church members the more money they 
give the priest and preachers, and the less money 
they give to advance science and acquire finite 
intelligence, the same being a part of the great 
Supreme Infinite Intelligence God. All history 
shows that all the people that have in all past time 
inhabited the earth have had that perplexing question 
to solve as to what constitutes God. Canst thou by 
searching find out God. Canst thou find out the Al- 
mighty unto perfection ? (Job, 1 1 :7, 8, 9.) Is not God 
in the height of the heaven? Can God judge through 
dark clouds? (Job, 22:12, 13, 14.) Here we have Job's 
idea of God, and it is generally conceded that Job is 
the oldest book in the Bible, and Job makes no attempt 
to squeeze God into the form of a man God. But ac- 
cording to the old Hebrew and Christian Bible, God 



348 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

was walking in the garden and satan was walking up 
and down in the earth. This walking man God told 
Abraham to go to a better place, but he soon struck a 
famine, and was hard up, but Sarah was handsome and 
he prostituted Sarah to Pharoah, and got a big rake-off 
in stock and slaves (Gen. 12:10.-20.) and he left Pha- 
raoh very rich in cattle, silver and gold. (Gen. 13:2.) 
Abraham again prostituted Sarah to King Abim-e-lech, 
wherein he got another rake-off by getting a great 
quantity of stock and silver. (Gen. 20 :1.-18.) Then this 
walking man God visited Abraham's tent, washed his 
feet under a tree and had a good time v/ith Sarah 
(Gen. 18:1.-15.) while Abraham was hunting the calf, 
and afterward made clandestine visits to Sarah, result- 
ing in Isaac (Gen. 21 :2.) but it will be noted that 
handsome Sarah, about nine months before, had been 
prostituted to Abim-e-lech (Gen. 20:12.) by which he' 
got his big rake-off in stock and silver. (Gen. 20:1.-18.). 
Therefore, it is an open question as to who was the 
father of Isaac. Was he the only begotten son of Abra- 
ham, or was he the sixty-third son of Abim-e-lech, or 
was he the ninety-fourth son of the walking man God 
that eat the calf under the tree. Isaac had a wife, 
Rebekah, and times being hard, this walking and calf- 
eating God give Isaac a hint to hunt up King Abim-e- 
lech, and Isaac remembering the tricks of his sup- 
posed father Abraham, was soon introducing his hand- 
some wife to his probable father (as per his mother 
had told him) as his sister, and she was a long time 
there, and still remained in convenient distance, and 
Isaac got a big rake-off, too, by the prostitution of his 
dear wife Rebekah, and the wives of Abraham and 
Isaac seemed to have enjoyed the change very much, 



THE BIBLE NOT A MORAL GUIDE. 349 

as they got the whole thing, as Pharoah, Abim-e-lech 
and the man God that eat the calf had never been cir- 
cumcised. (Gen. 26:1.-11.) Surely the Hebrews 
should feel proud of their first unsavory fathers and 
mothers. We can learn from the foregoing the won- 
derful influence that handsome women have with rich 
men, and I am willing to admit that a healthy, hand- 
some girl from sixteen to twenty years old, virtuous, 
chaste and pure is the most beautiful and attractive 
thing on this earth, as well as in sympathy, love, cour- 
age and feminine influence. But for men to prostitute 
their wives for filthy lucre, is such a detestable thing 
that no language will express it, but here in Bible 
record we find this very kind of villainy practiced by 
the founders of the Hebrew and Christian religion. 
This calf-eating and Sarah-loving pimp man God was 
changing her name and blessing her while Abraham 
rubbed his nose in the dust and laughing (Gen. 17: 
15.-19), and at the time when this same God was scrub- 
bing his rusty feet under the tree. Sarah knew he was 
coming, and sent Abraham after the calf, so as to 
shade their conjugal felicity, and when this foot wash- 
ing and calf eating God was ready to go and Abraham 
had asses saddled to help this bare and rusty footed 
God on the road, this God said (where is Sarah) to 
make it appear that he had not yet seen Sarah at all, 
and when Sarah heard this God hoodwinking old Abra- 
ham, she laughed. (Gen. 18:1.-15.) And when this 
bare and rusty footed and Sarah loving pimp man God 
got to Sodom, which was to be destroyed, he thought 
it best to save some human seed, and he selected the 
nephew of Abraham, whose pedigree was about the 
same as that of himself, so he selected old incestuous 



350 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

Lot, who had children that called him father and 
grandfather at the same time. (Gen. 19:30.-38.) And 
what better are the instructions of Paul the Apostle: 
''But if any man think that he behaveth uncomely to- 
ward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and 
need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth 
not." (1 Cor. 7:36.) Christ said: "But one thing is 
needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which 
shall not be taken away from her." (St. Luke. 10:42.) 
All virgins have the same choice, and the experience 
can never be taken from them. The above from Paul, 
and St. Luke, should be nicely printed and pasted in 
all priests' and preachers' hats, so. they won't forget to 
perform such sacred duties. Does the record of Moses 
show up any better? Moses' father-in-law was a 
Midian named Jethro. Moses' wife and Moses' two 
sons visited Moses (Ex. 18:1.-6.), and Moses' father- 
in-law instructed Moses how to govern the people. 
(Ex. 18:17.-27.) Moses hated the Midians, because 
they harbored a murderer, and that murderer was 
Moses. (Ex. 2:14.) Moses ordered all the Midians 
slaughtered except the virgins, so Moses ordered his 
wife and sons, and probably his daughters, slaugh- 
tered (Num. 31:15.-17.), as he had married a Negro 
woman without a divorce (Num. 12:1.), and 
Miriam (Aaron's wife) did not like the smell, and the 
man God come down and stood in the door, and smote 
A/[iriam with leprosy. Made her stay out seven days 
with some Negro Hebrews until she got used to the 
smell. (Num. 14:14.-16.) When Moses fell in love with 
his Negro wench he sent his Midian wife and chil- 
dren back to Jethro, who was a much more intelligent 
man that Moses. Moses met Jethro and kissed him, 



THE BIBLE NOT A MORAL GUIDE. 351, 

but did he kiss his Midian wife or his Midiaii sons; 
did he introduce them to his Negro wench, who per- 
fumed the tabernacle as a sweet savor to Moses, but 
made Miriam sick at the stomach? For more about 
Moses see page 169. The priest and preachers in the 
future must get their salary from people that believe 
the Hebrew and Christian Bible was and is the in- 
spired words of God, and is the truth, but as over 
half the people of the United States and some other 
countries believe that from Genesis to Revelations the 
old filthy, unchasted, licentious Hebrew and Christian 
Bible is proven to not be a moral guide, but a mass of 
incestuous debauchery and falsehood, and for that 
reason do not attend the churches and their salaries 
are growing beautifully less in small towns and cities 
of the agricultural regions, and mostly so in the large 
cities, but in the large cities there are many wealthy 
people of large fortunes and small intelligence, who 
build very large and costly church buildings, and pay 
their parsons more than the President of the United 
States and many Kings receive. The world was not 
likely that way when it started. Where the fools and 
their money parted. ' None are so blind as those that 
won't see. None are so ignorant as those that will 
not learn, or those that have ears will not hear. They 
all go to one place, to a fool's heaven (the grave) and 
make the world worse, not better. Talk to men of 
science, and of a general diversified education, that 
can and will consider Facts, Truths and Reasons, The 
Great Moral Way, in their answers. Intelligence is 
not to be had where there is none. 



,352 PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

GOD'S WRATH THE DEVIL'S TORTURE. 

The whole of the Hebrew and Christian Bible, and 
Hebrew and Christian and all religions are based on 
the wrath, anger and jealous attributes of a man God, 
with unlimited power to order and enforce the most 
excruciating, endless, unlimited and infinite torture 
in an eternal, infinite hell of damnation forever and 
forever; all under the control and ruled over by an- 
other man God of vengeance, malice and hate, called 
Satan, who has a co-existence with the first mentioned 
God. There can be no man God without there is a 
man Devil. There can be no positive except there 
be a negative. In this illustration of the myth man 
God, God is the positive and the Devil is the nega- 
tive, and this superlative imaginary pair is the founda- 
tion of the Hebrew, Christian, and all other religions, or 
modes of human worship on the whole earth. It is a 
sure deduction that both of such Gods are inventions 
of priestcraft, wholly imaginary and have no existence, 
but for all that the human race being densely ignorant, 
these yoked myth Gods bring billions of money and 
wealth to the priest and preachers of all nations and 
of every tongue, which if used to increase finite intel- 
ligence in the arts and sciences, would cause the 
human race to progress more in a hundred years than 
any thousand years in the great wasted past. That 
man God idea and man Devil idea, is a most detesta- 
ble curse to the whole human race. Wholly an inven- 
tion of priestcraft. 

Nothing can be more silly and ignorant than to 
assert that the great infinite God of all infinite space 
and infinitude is full of wrath and jealousy, or that 



god's wrath the devil's torture. 353 

there is an eternal Heaven, or an eternal Hell. That 
the earth and all the other planets in the great endless 
infinitude are spawning beds for human souls. If such 
was, and is the fact in all the endless past, and in 
all the endless future, and each soul being as large as 
a mustard seed, infinite in numbers, all jammed into 
infinite space, part set aside for the honest and just 
souls, and the rest occupied by priests, preachers, 
gamblers and dishonest souls that got their living 
by bilking the honest and industrious people while 
they inhabited the earth and billions of other planets. 
Ask yourself where is that Heaven in the sky; where 
is that Devil's bull pen, that bottomless pit, that end- 
less Hell of pain and torture. Only to be found in 
the priests and preachers and the man Gods wor- 
shippers' imagination — pure, double rectified bosh. 

Any intelligent person that will study the eternal 
things, their sphere of action, force and power, can not 
believe in a Heaven or a Hell, or reward or punish- 
ment after death. The word God means intelligence, 
and its negative is ignorance. 

Who can believe the Bible when it is so full of 
assertions and contradictions. Only fools accept the 
man God as the God of the eternal infinitude. All 
human reason shows that there is but one God, and 
that God is the eternal, unlimited, unchangeable intel- 
ligence. Then go to revival meetings where the 
shouts will jar the unripe walnut from the trees, and 
echo through the heavenly breeze, and give the guilty 
conscience ease, adoring an imaginary Heaven in 
the skies. Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be 
wise. Hold my baby while I shout, please. 



354. FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

PRIEST AND PROPHET. 

This pair of ancient two-legged beasts of prey. This 
most detestable, craven, carnivorous loving pair, whose 
business was to, by deception and deceit, to prey on the 
happiness of the whole human race. The priest was 
the head and fountain from which all curses and bless- 
ings flowed. The prophet was his tool, his lickspittle. 
The priest would formulate in writing what the pro- 
phet must prophesy, and then the prophet would get 
a move on himself and grind out a long prophesy. 
Then the priest would get on his robe of pious cant, 
and explain the wonderful prophesy that had just come 
from that most wonderful Lord, supreme being, Jeho- 
vah, kicksywiskey, man God, the same one that con- 
versed with Satan at the feast. (See first chapter of 
Job) read it all to be sure you have the right God. 
Such jugglers, tricksters and deceivers (prophets, of 
the Lord) would not be countenanced for a single min- 
ute at this day and time by any enlightened educated 
people on this earth, except they might be complimen- 
ted with a shower of rotten eggs, then step into a 
church and see and hear the priest or preacher select- 
ing his text from Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, 
or some other prophet who was the tool or lickspittle 
of some unreliable, unworthy and dishonest priest, 
who procured his living and wealth by deceit, de- 
ception and charlatanism. 

There's not a learned, intelligent person on the earth 
at this date that believes in prophesy, only so far as 
can be deducted and demonstrated by scientific facts, 
truths, and reasons that are absolute and undisputable. 



PRIEST AND PROPHET. 355 

There is no reasons supporting the truthfulness of the 
ancient prophesies set forth in the Hebrew scriptures. 
The whole grist, ground out to the coming generations, 
the same as drummed off by a hand organ, and of as 
little importance to the human race. 

What a horrible and detestable God as is shown 
(Ex. 9:12-16). A God of battle with bloody sword 
(Isa. 63: 3-4). God's love was of a bad kind (Rom. 
9: 11). (See page 146). God's hate and indignation 
without any cause for same (Mai. 1 : 2-4). (See page 
147). God tries to get people to believe a lie that they 
might all be damned (2. Thess. 2: 10-11). God sends 
lying spirits to deceive and lie for God, and put lies 
in the mouths of prophets (1 Kings 22: 19-21). (See 
page 148). The Lord God, through the priests, sent 
lies to the prophets and deceived them and the people 
Ezek. 14: 9). (Jer. 20: 7 and 4: 10). (See page 
149). It will be noticed that Ezekiel gives all to undes- 
stand that he gave out the prophesy just as the priest 
(as the Lord) sent it to him, and if there was any 
mistake, or that his prophesy did not prove to be 
truthful, that the Lord, through the priest, lied. (See 
page 149). It is plainly to be seen that the God in 
all the above was a myth, and the priest was all the 
God in the whole layout, and the priest, in formulating 
prophesy copy, got their deceitful lies mixed, and 
Ezekiel and Jeremiah would not stand the blame and 
threw it back on the priest, they representing the Lord 
in all matters in the scheme. In all the great past and 
up to date, the priest has prevented enlightenment, is 
now, and always has been, a stumbling block and sup- 
erlative curse of the whole human race, of every nation 



356 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

and of every tongue. Every priest, every sheik, every 
monk is now and ever has been the most detestable 
and greatest curse that ever afflicted mankind. In all 
the great past these vultures (birds of prey) have done 
everything in their power to prevent scientific thought 
and investigation, for the very potent reasons that the 
science of mathematics, geology, mineralogy, and as- 
tronomy, all proves the old Hebrew and Christian 
Bibles to be a mass of lies, contradictions, and false- 
hoods. The priests are generally learned men in their 
way, and they know that what they are teaching is 
not the truth, but it brings them a living and support 
with but little or no toil or sweat, and they keep right 
on teaching what they know conflicts with the facts, 
the truths and reasons. The priests, like the preachers, 
harangue the people without any reference whatever 
as to whether it is facts, truths, or reasons, on the basis 
that it is easier to hide and obscure the facts, truths 
and reasons with big lies, falsehoods and overdrawn 
statements which the people have been taught to be- 
lieve from antiquity, than it is to get the people to 
understand and believe the facts, the truths and the 
reasons as science and intelligence fully demonstrate. 
In the early history of the human race these priests 
were the inventors of an imaginary man God, or what 
their ignorant minds conjured up as a God of ven- 
geance, jealousy and wrath, all had to possess these 
superb qualities to a high degree. Each priest drawing 
and outlining an image 'to correspond to his imagina- 
tion and then himself and the people that looked to him 
as their mediator between them and God, bov/ed down 
worshiped, and offered blood sacrifice, which the priest 
invented as an atonement to jolly this imaginary image 



PRIEST AND PROPHET. 357 

God and thereby receive reciprocal favors therefrom. 
Then in order to gain this image God's greatest favors, 
human sacrifice was necessary, and the only basis for 
sacrifice of any and all kinds is now, and always has 
been, ignorant inventions by priest, the greatest curse 
of the human race. The greatest historical evidence, 
of human sacrifice comes from Mexico, which tells of 
fifty or sixty thousand human sacrifices having been 
offered up yearly on the bloody altars to the Mexican 
image Gods. On one occasion 70,000 human beings 
were brought to sacrifice slaughter to jolly and please 
their imaginary image God. There were buildings for 
storage of the human skulls so murdered by the priest, 
and in one building, counted by Cortes, first Emperor 
of Mexico, showed 136,000 skulls. As the Western 
Hemisphere were the first to be raised above the ocean, 
it is likely the blood and human sacrifices were intro- 
duced into the Eastern Hemisphere from Mexico. 
(See pages 342 and 343). Considering that foolish and 
absurd story as shown in (Gen. 22: 1-19) which belies 
all of the man God's fore-knowledge, and old Abraham 
to be a mere lickspittle of some juggler, legerdemanist 
or ventriloquist. It is here shown that Isaac fully 
understood what a burnt offering was like as he asked 
about the lamb to be used (Abraham evading his ques- 
tion). Lo what a scene ! a father binding his crying and 
pleading son with ropes and throwing him on the 
rough pile of wood, then with long knife waiving over 
his son, showing the farce of the first human sacrifice 
in the Hebrew scriptures. It is a sure deduction that 
priestcraft, both ancient and modern, was the fountain, 
the source, from which all sacrifice emanated, as well 
as most all other detestable absurdities in all human 



358 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

worship of an imaginary man God, that does not now, 
nor never has had any existence. The Monks, the 
monasteries, the convents, and the nunneries, is a dis- 
grace to the human race, and should be abated and 
prohibited by a universal law of all mankind. 

The preacher and preachercraft is of a higher order 
in the line of citizenship. Not giA^en to practice celi- 
bacy, the preacher admires and loves the ladies, makes 
his own home, raises and educates his family, pays his 
taxes, preaches for the money in his profession, but not 
one in ten believes what they preach, for the reasons 
belief ma}^ be a fact, or it may not be. There is not one 
priest or preacher in a thousand that has the force of 
mind to arrive at any thing near correct conclusions, 
and it is only those that have a superb education and 
a high order of thought and intelligence, as a rule, 
that need be considered. What does an old priest or 
preacher, around fumbling his cross, crescent and 
beads, with little or no knowledge of mathematics, 
chemistry, physiology, mineralogy, geology or astron- 
omy, or the great surroundings of his existence — in re- 
ality a real old blockhead ready to give all mankind 
advice as to how to live while here on earth, and to 
receive an eternal reward of glory and happiness after 
death. What better can be expected from such old 
guy-lauts, possessed of no scientific attainments what- 
ever, but with plenty of mouth to roar equal to Bal- 
aam's ass. The time has come when learned and intelli- 
gent people of all nations should drop both these old 
blatherskites (priests and preachers) and substitute 
learned, intelligent, scientific men to lecture, to govern, 
and to point out the true and best course of life — The 
Great Moral Way. (See page 92.) 



ANALYSIS OF THE ETERNAL THINGS 359 



ANALYSIS OF THE ETERNAL THINGS. 

As an introduction to this article I wish to explain 
that when I use the word God, I do not mean a man 
God, or a supreme being, I mean the highest, the great- 
est, the supreme, the very acme of all the eternal things 
(Intelligence). Not the intelligence of God, but that 
intelligence is God, and that there is no other God but 
intelligence. Intelligence fills infinite space and is ac- 
cessible to the earth and all other planets throughout 
all infinitude, and acting in harmony with all other 
eternal things. 

The Eternal Unlimited Unchangeable Ethereal Space. 

None of the other eternal things could exist until 
there was space ; not even God could have existed 
until there was space to exist in. God could have had 
a co-existence with space, but not before there was 
space. (See page 75.) 

The Eternal, Unlimited, Unchangeable Duration 
(Time.) 

There could no action take place unless there was 
time for the action. No matter what power or impul- 
sive force that God might possess, God could take 
no action until there was time for the action. God 
could have had a co-existence with duration but not 
before there was duration. 



360 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 



The Eternal, Unlimited Caloric (heat), and Negative, 

Cold. 

Heat and cold fills all ethereal space, and no action 
can take place in formations only through the instru- 
mentality of heat and cold. God could have had a co- 
existence with heat and cold, but not before there was 
heat and cold. 



Eternal Unlimited Undestroyable Matter (Material). 

God could not have taken any action in formations 
until there was matter (material to enter into the 
construction, as, if there was no matter there could 
be no construction. God could have had a co-existence 
with matter, but not before there was matter, as mat- 
ter is the base upon which all existence depends. 
(See page 80). 

The Eternal Unlimited Light and Negative Darkness. 

There could have been no action take place until the 
sun and millions of other caloric bodies radiated the 
light and heat throughout ethereal space, and the rev- 
olutions of the planets and satellites causing the nega- 
tive darkness, and God could have taken no action in 
formations until there was both light and darkness. 
So there was no God until there was both light and 
darkness. God could have had a co-existence with 
light and darkness, but not before there was light and 
darkness. (See page 76?) 



ANALYSIS OF THE ETERNAL THINGS. 361 

The Eternal Unlimited Electricity and Its Attractions. 

Electricity is one of the eternal things brought to the 
human vision by power, motion and friction, having a 
positive and negative attraction in all spheroidical 
bodies in the eternal, unlimited, ethereal space, being 
an attribute of matter and co-existence with God. 

The Eternal Unlimited Cohesive Attraction and 
Expansion. 

The innate coherent atoms locked together by cohe- 
sive attraction but expanding by heat and contracted 
by cold, used in the arts to draw buildings together, 
draw the tires on wood or mettaline wheels, mercurial 
thermometers and other uses. An attribute of matter 
and co-existence with matter and God. 

The Eternal Unlimited Attraction and Repulsion. 

Attraction means drawing together, repulsion means 
to drive back. The positive and negative forces in 
combination as illustrated by the horseshoe magnet. 
The centripetal and centrifugal forces which are in- 
creased or decreased by all circular motion from or to a 
fixed center. Also local magnetic fixed attractions, 
such as loadstone, magnetic iron ore possessing pol- 
arity, magnetic springs, magnetic caves, localities, etc. 

The Eternal Unlimited Gravitation Attraction. 

Throughout eternal ethereal space of all infinitude 
gravitation attraction is the force and power that holds 
all planets, both great and small, also suns or great 
caloric bodies together, and extends far beyond the at- 
mospheres of such spheroidical bodies of matter and 
has a co-existence with matter and God. 



362 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 



The Eternal Unlimited Power, Motion, and Force. 

Power, motion and force exist throughout the eternal 
ethereal space, and there never was a time when these 
three eternal things did not exist, and God could have 
had a co-existence with these three eternal things, but 
not before there was power, motion and force. 

The Eternal Unlimited Orbital Motion of Planets and 

Comets. 

So far as the human race is concerned we can only 
grasp the stubborn facts, that eternal ethereal space 
has no beginning and no end. If we went through space 
one million miles per hour for one hundred million 
years we would be no nearer the end of space than we 
were when we started. In all this infinite space there 
are suns, comets, planets and satellites circling the 
ethereal sky in their orbits, the same having a co-exist- 
ence with God. 



The Eternal Unlimited Power that Controls Orbital 
Motion. 

The eternal unlimited power that controls and 
governs orbital motion of suns, comets, planets, and 
satellites is by the impulse of the great intelligence 
God. 



ANALYSIS OF THE ETERNAL THINGS. 363 

The Eternal Unlimited Structural Affinity in 
Formations. 

The structure of the earth shows that atoms or 
molecules of each stratum of earth are composed of 
just such atoms or molecules as is congenial to form 
that kind of matter. The atoms or molecules entering 
into the formation of granite are different from those 
forming the porphyry, and the atoms or molecules 
forming millstone grit are different from those forming 
red sand stone. So it is readily seen that each and 
every stratum of the earth are drawn together by 
structural affinity. Gold has attractive affinity for gold, 
and the great white nations of the earth have attrac- 
tive affinity for each other, and no black people would 
be allowed to conquer and make slaves of any white 
nation. A conflict that missionaries are trying to 
bring about. 

The Eternal Unlimited Origination and Dissemination. 

The human race never were created for the reason 
that the material out of which they were and are con- 
structed was, and is, one of the eternal things that 
exist now and always has existed. They were origina- 
ted out of intelligence, life, heat, and matter, by the 
impulse of God, the same being a harmonious action 
with all the eternal things. The meaning of dissem- 
ination is to divide up and scatter around. All animate 
and inanimate life does that very thing, over which 
they have no control. It is the beneficence, the saving 
grace of life on the earth, the cross-bloods of nations 
(See sanitarium.) 



364 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 



The Eternal Unlimited Animate and Inanimate Life. 

Animate life is where the action can be seen ; inani- 
mate Hfe is where the action can not be seen (such as 
life in vegetation). Life is eternal whether animate or 
inanimate, whether in the animal or vegetable king- 
doms, and is made no less by death or dissolution, the 
same to-day, tomorrow and forever co-existing with 
God. (See page 82), 

The Eternal Unlimited Terrestrial and Polar 
Magnetism. 

The source of terrestrial and polar magnetism is 
from the North Star (see page 345). The magnetic 
current governing the magnetic meridian, the mag- 
netic needle, and is one of the eternal things having a 
co-existence with, and governed by the impulse of the 
great intelligence, God. 

The Eternal Unlimited Diversity in Formations. 

In all eternal unlimited ethereal space there is not now, 
never was, nor never will be, any two things exactly 
alike. Diversity rules supreme without the minute- 
ness of deviation. Diversity has a co-existence with, 
and is enforced by the impulse of the great intelli- 
gence, God. 



ANALYSIS OF THE ETERNAL THINGS. 365 

The Eternal Unlimited Change in Matter in Formation. 

Matter is the only eternal thing that has any body 
substance (see page 71). All the other eternal things 
has no body substance. Matter furnishes the body 
of the sun and all other great caloric bodies, all 
comets, all planets, all satellites, all nebula and includ- 
ing all matter in the great milky-way. Matter is the 
body of everything formed or made, and is the very 
foundation on which everything else is based. It is 
through and by matter that all other external things 
exist. Matter is always changing, but no matter is 
ever lost or destroyed. The same to-day, to-morrow 
and forever. Therefore matter has a co-existence with 
God, as if there was no matter there would be no God, 
and no use for a God, as there would be nothing to' 
govern or act on. Without matter all the other eternal 
things would be useless. 

The Eternal Unlimited Unchangeable Natural Law. 

Natural law is eternal fixed rules that must be fol- 
lowed to maintain harmony through and by all the 
eternal things in their action, force and power. The 
great impulse of intelligence (God), no matter how 
great that might be, it must not, nor can not violate 
natural law. God could not make a twenty-year-old 
man in one day, but the last second of the twenty 
years must be taken in order to make the man twenty 
years old. All the eternal things, including intelli- 
gence (God), have their sphere of action, force and 
power, but do not, nor can not violate natural law or 
do an impossibility. 



366 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

The Eternal Unlimited Unchangeable Intelligence 
(God.) 

Intelligence (God) is the supreme essence of all 
eternity and infinitude. The impulsive force, the mov- 
ing cause that controls and governs in harmony all the 
other eternal things, and all action is an infinite sup- 
reme intelligent action throughout all and every place 
in the eternal ethereal space of all infinitude. Intel- 
ligence is inexhaustible, and all that seek intelligence 
will find intelligence; all who seek (God) will find 
(God). No homage, No prayers, no human worship 
required, but by preceptors in schools of learning and 
by study of the surrounding ethereal Heavens, and the 
earth, which is the open book of intelligence (God) 
(see page 78). There is no reason for computing a cor-' 
poral body to intelligence (God), because we finite hu- 
man beings are possessed of a body embracing a ner- 
vous system and connected brain with its sensorium, 
by which we can, and do absorb finite intelligence 
which is a part of the infinite intelligence (God) that 
fills all infinite ethereal space of all infinitude. Be- 
cause we finite beings have such a corporal body is 
no reason that intelligence, God, that fills all infinitude 
should have such a body. God could not exist every- 
where throughout infinite space and be embodied at 
all. This ancient he, man God, and spiritual existence 
after death with eternal reward or punishment (an 
invention of priestcraft) is the greatest curse this 
world has ever known. (See page 79,) 



A PARODY ON MARRIAGE. 

Advice to Girls and Boys. 

you marry when you are fifteen, 
will be sure thing- you are green. 

you marry when you are sixteen, 
will make all call you sweet serene. 

you marry when you are seventeen, 
is sure your sense will be seen. 

you marry when you are eighteen, 
shows you to be the greatest Queen. 

you marry when you are nineteen, 

is sure you get the greatest esteem. 

you marry when you are tv/enty, 
is true you will have a plenty. 

you marry when at twenty-one, 

is sure you have a fortune won. 

you marry when at twenty-two, 

is that fortune will go with you. 

you marry when at twenty-three, 
will be that you never can agree. 

you marry when at twenty-four, 

is sure 3^ou will always be poor. 

(367)' 



368 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

If you marry when at twenty-five. 

It is almost certain you will never thrive. 

If you marry when at twenty-six, 

It is then you must take poorest picks. 

If you marry when at twenty-seven 

It shows you will eat your bread unleaven. 

If you marry when at twenty-eight, 

It says you never will get any estate. 

If you marry when at twenty-nine, 

It says that you never will dress fine. 

If you marry when you are thirty, 

It says sure you always will be dirty. 

If you marry when at thirty-one. 

It says that blue stockings all will shun. 







MORAL. 






Girls 


are 


like 


summer 


fruit. 


Must 


be 


used 


when 


ripe. 


Boys 


are 


like 


winter 


fruit, 


Can 


be 


used 


when 


ripe. 



Or can be kept over until late in 
Life, and can always get a wife. 



Halley's Comet. 

After seventy-four years and five months Halley's 
comet is once more speeding through the Infinite 
Ethereal space within the vision of the human race. 
It is a periodical visitor, making four trips in about 
every 300 years, as it were, to communicate with the 
Sun, or to receive some vital force or attribute made 
necessary by the Infinite Intelligence God. Tracing 
Halley's comet back twenty-nine revolutions shows 
that it was then as now speeding its orbit 240 years 
before Christ, and likely had been making its orbital 
circuits for billions of years before that time. 

Its body substance being matter reduced to aeri- 
form fluid by the intensity of heat, as it made no 
impression on the Sun's disk while passing between 
the earth and the Sun. (See pages 69 and 344.) It 
made its perihelium or nearest point to the Sun on the 
fifteenth day of May, A. D. 1910, 54,000,000 miles from 
the Sun, and is expected to return to the same place 
on the fifteenth day of October A. D. 1984, barring 
celestial storms and counter-attractions. When we 
consider its speed, a slow retrograde sailer as our 
earth speeds its orbit six times faster. The orbit of 
Halley's comet being in the form of an ellipse, 7,180,- 
000,000 miles in length, the major axis being 3,330,000,- 
.000 miles in length, and minor axis being 850,000,000 
miles in length, its speed through Infinite space is 
given in miles as follows : 

Per year a little more than 96,483,762 miles. 

Per month a little more than 8,040,313 miles. 

Per day a little more than 280,774 miles. 

Per hour a little more than 11,698 miles. 

Per minute a little more than 194 miles. 

Per second a little more than 3 miles. 



(369) 



370 FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 



Nearing the Close. 

Now in nearing the closing page of this book I wish 
to call the attention of all people that favor freedom 
and fair dealing that the priest and preachers of the 
Man God worshipers assume the right to say what 
they please about the moral people. The liberal 
minded people. The Freethinker people, and that I 
assume (my God directing) the same right to show up 
their detestable, false and lying record showing the 
basis of their useless and absurd Man-God; there 
being no such God, nor never was, nor never will be. 
The Infinite God needs no worship nor can accept 
none. 

I have not referred to the manna and quail story, or 
to the exploits of Samson with the jawbone of the ass,, 
the lions' den, the fiery furnace, Elijah's fiery chariot 
as he sailed away to a mythical heaven, nor to Christ 
who took aerial navigation to the same place, nor to 
the twelve loaves and two fishes that fed 5,000 people 
to the bursting point, and hundreds of other big lies too 
numerous to mention in a book of this size ; but I be- 
lieve that I have produced sufficient evidence to con- 
vince any intelligent men or women that the Hebrew 
and Christian Bible is not from the great Intelligence 
(God), but are the writings of unintelligent, unin- 
formed men only, and were and are now mostly myth 
stories — a farce and failure, and not worthy of the con- 
fidence and respect of all intelligent people or a place 
in their homes. 



THE END OF THIS BOOK. 371 

In this day and time of scientific attainments, all 
the church worships of the world are fast becoming 
obsolete, and in the near future they will become 
more so. 

There are no Facts, no Truths, no Reasons that 
the people should longer pay and support priest and 
preachers luxuriously to explain the Hebrew and 
Christian Bible, as it is unworthy, untruthful and in- 
decent. 

The Sunday within the next fifty years will be ante- 
dated and a thing of the past. A man is a bigot and 
a fool that neglects his harvest or any other kind of 
crop on account of Sunday. It is no crime to disbe- 
lieve in the sanctity of the Sabbath day, as every per- 
son is individually responsible for their own acts, and 
not the State and Nation. 

"Know then, thyself; presume not God to scan; 
The proper study of mankind is man." 

— Pojpe 
"The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God like another 
Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its 
origin and growth in the blood of thousands of mar- 
tyrs." — Thomas Jefferson. "Human Reason is the 
greatest, the superlative attribute of Human Intelli- 
gence, God's greatest gift to Man, and he that would 
hinder, impede, obstruct or entrammel Human Reason 
is an enemy of the human race." — Thomas Jefferson 
Simpson. I dedicate and send this book, greeting to 
all the Human Race, and, I hope, for the betterment 
of all Mankind. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, M. D., 

Clarksburg, Missouri. 



INDEX 



The true course of life 

Autobiography . 

Preface 

I wish I was a baby 

As we find it 

Introductory 

Fine stones of the Earth and what makes them valuable , 

How the earth was made 

What causes earthquakes and volcanoes 

The first existence of the human race 

What constitutes the universalum 

The eternal things that never were created 

What constitutes a human being. . , 

True religion is the same in all the human race 

The moral precepts of Christ and Confucius compared . . . 

The wise live off the ignorant 

A God that is a needy God is worse than no God 

Then that Saint John's mythical bird cage city 

The United States should not protect missionaries 

There is no such a thing as sin „ . . . 

Criticisms on the fabulous lies in the Bible 

Oh but that was a lovely God 

The words Deity, God, Lord, Almighty, Jehovah 

The claim that there is such a place as Purgatory 

The feminine gender of the human race 

The best way to dispose of corpse 

Abate filthy nuisances and control alcoholic liquors 

Alcohol is the greatest medicinal remedy known 

Noah's food 

Intelligence can not create anything 

The component parts of a human being 

The shortcomings, indecent, inconsistency 

What would the bull of the Pope amount to 

The Priest says to himself I will soon get a red cap 

Lost Books in the Scriptures 

Now as to Jesus Christ his miraculous conception , 

King James translation faulty 

We are always ready to feed the sheep 

The laws of the Hebrews borrowed 

Christ was first called the son of God by the devils 

(372) 



1 3 

1 4 
1 5 

1 27 
1 30 

1 31 

2 33 

3 42 

4 51 

5 59 

6 68 

7 74 

8 79 
8 83 

8 83 

9 85 
9 89 
9 89 
9 92 
9 94 

10 96 
10 97 
10 99 
10 100 
10 101 

10 102 
11105 

11 106 

12 109 

12 114 

13 116 

14 118 
14 120 

14 122 

15 125 
15 126 
15 128 
15 129 
15 130 
15 131 



INDEX. 373 



The Christian Bible will not stand criticism , 

What is human worship , . . . 

Children should be taught by their parents 

Fixed Rules of Life 

The first existence of the human race 

Even People was not allowed to see Moses negro wife . 

Character of the Hebrew and Christian God 

The early Christians were blinded by creedal dogmas . , 

Swears in hot wrath and is jealous 

Orders and accepts human sacrifice 

Results of these examples 

Where people should be wise 

Is guilty of outrage, injustice and vanity 

This God has abiding care over falling sparrows 

Paul gives you an eye opener 

God guilty of falsehood and deception 

Be ye perfect even as your father in heaven 

The Hebrew God violates oaths and promises 

The conversation between Godship and devilship , 

The Lord of glory answered Satan's cruel demand . . . . 

Oh that I had never been born , 

God's personal appearance and dwelling place 

God loved Satan more than Job 

No personal God can be Infinite 

The object of the existence of the human race 

The maker is responsible for the thing made 

The certainty and infallibility of Intelligence God 

Hebrew and Christian worship of a man God 

In 1096 the Christians inaugurated the crusade 

When Hebrew and Christian Bible ruled 

And do not suffer a witch to live 

God and Christ were expunged by a majority vote. . . 

Hebrew and Christian Bible precepts 

God is perfect and infinite in all attributes 

St. Peter murdered and robbed Ananias 

God is not a needy God and can not be assisted 

Hebrew and Christian not honest or moral 

God and the horrible doctrine of original sin 

Manuscripts destroyed at the Nicene Council 

Blind dogmatic undoubting faith not morality 

Fathers purchased with their best blood 

Moses and Joshua 

When the Hebrews went to Egypt 

Moses argued with God and God repented 

The bigger the lies, the better with church dupes 



15 132 
15 132 

15 133 

16 134 
16 135 

16 136 

17 140 
17 141 
17 143 
17 143 
17 144 
17 144 
17 146 
17 147 
17 148 
17 148 
17 149 
17 150 
17,151 
17|152 
17 152 
17 153 
17 153 

17 154 

18 156 
18 157 
18 158 
18 158 
18 159 
18 160 
18 160 
18 161 
18 161 

18 163 

19 164 
19 165 
19 165 
19 165 
19 166 
19 167 

19 168 

20 169 
20 170 
20 170 
20170 



374 INDEX. 



Moses and Joshua was yoked in villiany 20 171 

The Hebrew and christian's hell of damnation 20 171 

Hebrew and christian Bible on the center table 20 171 

What ancient history shows 21 172 

Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord 21 172 

The Chaldeans, Greeks and Romans had many Gods 21 173 

Saviours, Messiahs, Gods, and Demigods 21 173 

To be born of a virgin and fathered by a myth God. 21 173 

God has no needs to supply, God is perfect 21 174 

Earthly paradise with the Pope on the throne 21 175 

Such as applying gender to God 21 175 

Spirit of man, spirit of God. evil spirit 21 175 

There is no such a thing as Lord or Jehovah 21 176 

There is no such thing as divinity, deify saint 21 176 

There is no such thing as sin, only a myth 21 176 

Sin the devil's treasury box and the priest stock in trade 21 177 

The Great InteUigence God is perfect 21 177 

Oh when you come to die says the dupes 21 178 

That great bugaboo of a great hell fire 21 178 

Teachings of Christ the gospel standard of faith 22 179 

Wine for drunkards at a marriage feast 22 179 

Then hang on your swords for Christ said 22 179 

Give to every hobo that ask you that wont work 22 179 

The fathers of our repubhc beUeving 22 180 

There are many so-called Christians 22 180 

The creed of Christ is not followed 22 181 

Thou- Shalt love the Lord thy God strongly 22 181 

Supplemental Commandment 22 182 

Golden rule, beatitude, non-resistance 22 182 

Charity, Poverty, Self-Mutilation 22 183 

Ceremonies, Baptism, Lord's Supper. 22 184 

Washing of feet, fasting, prayers 22 185 

If you have faith as a mustard seed 22 186 

In my name shall they cast out devils 22 186 

Do you love your neighbor as yourself 22 187 

Resist not evil, intemperance is an evil 22 188 

If smitten on one cheek, turn the other 22 188 

Agree with thine adversary quickly 22 189 

Poverty is commended and riches condemned 22 189 

Call no man your father, you might be mistaken 22 190 

"Love your enemies," and hate your frieiids 22 190 

You must be baptized or hell is sure 22 190 

Ye also ought to wash one another's feet 22 191 

All things are possible to him that believeth |22 193 

Whatsoever you ask for, you will receive 122 193 



INDEX. 375 



He that believeth Christ will live fo;ever 22 194 

In my name shall they cast out devils 22 194 

They shall take up serpents 23 195 

Those that believe in Christ poison cannot kill 23 195 

If you believe, you can heal the afflicted 23 195 

The fall of Adam and Eve 23 195 

The Chnstian scheme of redemption 23 195 

If God foresaw that Adam would fall 23 196 

" To punish the just is not good " 23 197 

God has prepared a fire of brimstone 23 198 

The New Testament speaks of God's wrath 23 199 

God allowed 4000 years to elapse 23 201 

All born in guilt and. steeped in iniquity 23 203 

The inconsistency of this scheme of redemption 23 204 

If Christ did pay the debt for our wrong doings 23 205 

Following Christ to the close of his career 23 206 

" My God: My God: why hast thou forsaken me " 23 207 

" We are of ourselves unable to do any good thing " 23 208 

At this age of developed Facts, Truths and Reasons 23 209 

All prayers are a total failure 24 210 

All promises of prayers are untruthful 24 211 

There is a feeling in the business world 24 212 

Dishonest belief, beware of the praying man 24 212 

Does anyone really believe prayers are answered 24 213 

From whence comes the answers to prayers 24 214 

Prayers to God a total failure, empty bubbles 24 215 

Will prayer make the deformed person perfect 24 216 

Intelligence does not come for the asking 24 217 

The faith in prayer i^ a Bible product 24 218 

The Bible on prayer. But what a he it is 24 219 

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick 24 220 

Disregard of professions of faith. 24 221 

The answer to prayers is perfect silence 24 223 

Praying for rain, praying for wisdom 24j224 

A sad sight teaching children the pray lie 24|225 

No matter who prays it shows ignorance 24 226 

Character and conduct not in prayers 24 227 

It is hard to be condemned if a Christian » 24 228 

A discarded apparatus a certain closet 24 230 

Christians advised to read the Bible 24 232 

What God decrees must stand 25 233 

Unchangeable God, 'T am God I change not" 25 236 

The all-wise Bird of Liberty with contempt 26 238 

The Most Potent self-contradictions 26 239 

The whole 144 self-contradictions of the Bible 26 241 



37G INDEX. 



a bo 



The last page of self-contradictions 

The recapitulation of contradictions 

The last page of recapitulation 

Comment on contradictions and recapitulation 

The first people that came on the earth 

Priestcraft idolatry and human sacrifice 

The evidence that shows Genesis to be a lie 

The extent of the earth's atmosphere , 

The extent of gravitation attraction , 

The positive and negative forces , . , 

The infinite and the finite intelligence 

A truthful definition of God is best , 

Future punishment or reward has no existence 

The true history of Abraham and Isaac 

The acts of Paul, Christ and Moses is bad , 

The Bible not a moral guide. Fools and money part , 

God's wrath the Devil's torture , 

Who can believe the Bible 

The Priests and Prophets the beasts of prey , 

What a horrible and detestable God , 

The Priests, sheiks, and monks, are all a curse , 

Thousands of human beings murdered as sacrifice 

The preachers that roar like Balaam's ass , 

The analysis of the eternal things 

A parody on marriage. Advice to girls and boys. 

All about Halley's comet , 

Many big lies in the Bible not mentioned 

Quotations from Pope, Jefferson and Simpson 



26 322 
26 322 
26 341 

26 341 

27 342 
27 342 
27 343 
27 344 
27 344 
27 345 
27 346 
27 346 
27 347 
27 348 
27 350 
27 351 
27 352 
27 353 
27 354 
27 355 
27 356 
27 357 
27 358 
27 359 
27 3 7 
27 369 
27 370 
27 371 



The Simpson-Paine Combination 

OF 

Facts, Truths and Reasons 



THE GREAT MORAL WAY 



THOMAS PAINE' S AGE OF REASON 

REVISED 

Modernized, Changed and Harmonized with 

Present State of EnUghtenment on Invented 

False and Fabulous Theology 

BY 

THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, M. D. 
Of Clarksburg, Missouri 



Independence of United States of America the 135th 



ST. LOUIS, MO. 
NIXON-JONES PRINTING CO. 

1912 



Copyright, 1909 

by 

Thomas Jefferson Simpson 



Nixon-Jones Pt£. Co. 
St. Louis 



THE GREAT MORAL WAY 



TO MY 



FELLOW-CITIZENS 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 



I put the following work under your protection. It 
contains my opinions upon Religion. You will do me 
the justice to remember that I have always stren- 
uously supported the Right of every Man to his own 
opinion, however different that opinion might be to 
mine. He who denies to another this right, makes 
a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he 
precludes himself the right of changing it. 

The most formidable weapon against errors of every 
kind is Reason. I have never used any other, and I 
trust I never shall. 

Your affectionate friend and fellow-citizen, 

THOMAS PAINE. 

Luxembourg, 8th Pluviose, 

Second Year of the French Republic, one and indivisible. 

January 27, 0. S. 1794. 

(3) 



/4 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 



[Part First.] 

It has been my intention, for several years past, to 
publish my thoughts upon Religion. I am well aware 
of the difficulties that attend the subject; and, from 
that consideration, had reserved it to a more advanced 
period of life. I intended it to be the last offering I 
should make to my fellow-citizens of all nations ; and 
that at a time when the purity of the motive that in- 
duced me to it could not admit of a question, even by 
those who might disapprove the work. 

The circumstance that has now taken place in 
France, of the total abolition of the whole national 
order of priesthood and of everything appertaining to 
compulsive systems of religion and compulsive articles 
of faith, has not only precipitated my intention, but 
rendered a work of this kind exceedingly necessary; 
lest, in the general wreck of superstition, of false sys- 
tems of government, and false theology, we lose sight 
of morality, of humanity, and of the theology that is 
true, and not in conflict with science, for any theology 
that conflicts with science is a false theology. 

As several of my colleagues, and others of my fel- 
low citizens of France, have given me the example of 
making their voluntary and individual profession of 
faith, I also will make mine; and I do this with all 
that sincerity and frankness with which finite intelli- 
gence make possible. 

I believe that Intelligence is the one and only God 
and to whom I confide my present and future exist- 
ence. 



FACTS^ TRUTHS AND REASONS. 5 

I believe in the equality of all mankind, and I be- 
lieve that religious duties consist in doing justice, 
loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow- 
creatures happy. 

But. lest it should be supposed that I believe many 
other things in addition to these, I shall, in the prog- 
ress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, 
and my reasons for not believing them. 

I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish 
church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, 
by the Mohammedan church, by the Protestant church, 
nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is 
my own church. 

All national institutions of churches — whether Jew- 
ish, Christian, or Mohammedan — appear to me no 
other than human inventions set up to terrify and 
enslave mankind and monopolize power and profit. 

I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those 
who believe otherwise. They have the same right to 
their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to 
the happiness of all mankind, that they be mentally 
faithful to themselves. Infidelity does not consist in 
believing or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to 
believe what they do not believe. 

It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I 
may so express it, that mental lying has produced in 
society. When a person has so far corrupted and pros- 
tituted the chastity of their intelligence, as to sub- 
scribe their professional belief to things they do not 
believe, they have prepared themselves for the com- 
mission of every other crime. They take up the trade 
of a priest for the sake of gain, and, in order to qualify 
themselves for that trade, they begin with a perjury. 



6 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Can we conceive anything more destructive to mo- 
rality than this? 

Soon after I had published the pamphlet, Common 
Sense, in America, I saw the exceeding probability 
that a Revolution in the System of Government would 
be followed by a revolution in the system of religion. 
The adulterous connection of church and state, wher- 
ever it had taken place — whether Jewish, Christian, 
or Mohammedan — had so effectually prohibited, by 
pains and penalties, every discussion upon established 
creeds and upon first principles of religion, that until 
the system of government should be changed those 
subjects could not be brought fairly and openly before 
the world, but that whenever this should be done, a 
revolution in the system of religion would follow. 
Human inventions and priestcraft would be detected, 
and mankind Avould return to the pure, unmixed, and' 
unadulterated belief of an infinite God, and no more. 

Every national church or religion has established 
itself by pretending some special mission from God, 
communicated to certain individuals. The Jews have 
their Moses ; the Christians their Jesus Christ, their 
apostles and saints ; and the Turks their Mahomet — as 
if the way to God was not open to all people alike. 

Each of those churches show certain books which 
they call revelation, or the volition of God. The Jews 
say that their volition of God was given by God to 
Moses face -to face ; the Christians say that their voli- 
tion of God came by divine inspiration ; and the Turks 
say that their volition of God (the Koran) was brought 
by an angel from heaven. Each of those churches ac- 
cuse the other of unbelief; and, for my own part, I 
disbelieve them all. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 7 

As it is necessary to affix right ideas to God's voli- 
tion, I will, before I proceed further into the subject, 
offer some observations on the word revelation. Rev- 
elation, when applied to religion, means something 
communicated immediately from God to the human 
race. 

No one will deny or dispute the impulse of Intelli- 
gence God to make such a communication, if it is 
the proper thing to do. But admitting, for the sake 
of a case, that something has been revealed to a cer- 
tain person, and not revealed to any other person, 
it is revelation to that person only. When he tells 
it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to 
a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to 
all those persons. It is a revelation to the first person 
only, and hearsay to every other; and, consequently, 
they are not obliged to believe it. 

It is a contradiction in terms and ideas to call any- 
thing a revelation that comes to us at second-hand, 
either verbally or in writing. Revelation is necessarily 
limited to the first comunication — after this, it is only 
an account of something which that person says was a 
revelation made to him or her; and though that person 
is forced to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me 
to believe it in the same manner, for it was not a reve- 
lation to me, and I have only heard that it was made to 
somebody. 

When Moses told the children of Israel that he 
received the two tables of the commandments from 
the hand of God, they were not obliged to believe him, 
because they had no other authority for it than Moses 
telling them so; and I have no other authority for it 
than some historian telling me so. The command- 



8 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

ments carry no internal evidence of divinity with 
them. They contain some good moral precepts, such 
as any person qualified to be a lawgiver, or a legis- 
lator, could produce without having recourse to super- 
natural intervention. It is, however, necessary to 
except the declaration which says that God visits the 
sins of the fathers upon the children. This is contrary 
to every principle of moral justice and is a lie. 

When I am told that the Koran was written in 
heaven, and brought to Mahomet by an angel, the 
account comes too near the same kind of hearsay evi- 
dence, and second-hand authority as the former. I 
did not see the angel myself, and therefore I have a 
right not to believe it. 

When also I am told that a woman called the Virgin 
Mary said, or gave out, that she was with child with- 
out any cohabitation with a man, and that her be- 
trothed husband, Joseph, said that an angel told him 
so, I have a right to believe them or not; such a cir- 
cumstance required a much stronger evidence than 
their bare word for it ; but we have not even that ; for 
neither Joseph nor Mary wrote any such matter them- 
selves. It is only reported by others that they said so. 
It is hearsay upon hearsay, and I do not choose to rest 
my belief upon such evidence. 

It is, however, not difficult to account for the credit 
that was given to the story of Jesus Christ being the 
son of God. He was born at a time when the heathen 
mythology had still some fashion and repute in the 
world, and that mythology had prepared the people for 
the belief of such a story. Almost all the extraordi- 
nary men that lived under the heathen mythology were 
reputed to be the sons of some of their gods. It was 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 9 

not a new thing, at that time, to believe a child to have 
been celestially begotten ; the intercourse of gods with 
women was then a matter of familiar opinion. Their 
Jupiter, according to their accounts, had cohabited 
with hundreds; the story therefore had nothing in it 
either new, wonderful, or obscene ; it was conformable 
to the opinions that then prevailed among the people 
called Gentiles, or mythologists, and it was those peo- 
ple only that believed it. The Jews, who had kept 
strictly to the belief of God, and who had always 
rejected the heathen mythology, never give credence 
to such lies. 

It is curious to observe how the theory of what is 
called the Christian church sprung out of the tales of 
the heathen mythology. A direct incorporation took 
place, in the first instance, by making the reputed 
founder to be celestially begotten. The trinity of gods 
that then followed was no other than a reduction of 
the former plurality, which was about twenty or thirty 
thousand Gods. The statue of Mary succeeded the 
statue of Diana of Ephesus. The deification of heroes 
changed into the canonization of saints. The mythol- 
ogists had gods for everything; the Christian mythol- 
ogists had saints for everything. The church became 
as crowded with the one as the pantheon had been 
with the other, and Rome was the place of both. The 
Christian theory is little else than the idolatry of the 
ancient mythologists, accommodated to the purposes 
of power and revenue ; and it yet remains to reason 
and philosophy to abolish the amphibious fraud of a 
man God by substituting Infinite Intelligence God and 
eradicating all saints. 

Nothing that is here said can apply, even with the 



10 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

most distant disrespect, to the real character of Jesus 
Christ. He was a virtuous and amiable man. The 
morality that he preached and practiced was of the 
most benevolent kind; and though similar systems of 
morality had been preached by Confucius, and by 
some of the Greek philosophers, many years before; 
by the Quakers since, and by many good people in all 
ages, it has not been exceeded by any. But his instruc- 
tions to his followers were poor, worthless and silly, 
and not at all practicable. 

Jesus Christ wrote no account of himself, of his 
birth, parentage, or anything else. Not a line of what 
is called the New Testament is of his writing. The 
history of him is altogether the work of other people ; 
and as to the account given of his resurrection and 
ascension, it was the necessary counterpart to the 
story of his birth. His historians, having brought him 
into the world in supernatural manner, were obliged to 
take him out again in the same manner, or the first 
part of the story must have fallen to the ground. 

The wretched contrivance with which this latter 
part is told exceeds everything that went before it. 
The first part, that of the miraculous conception, was 
not a thing that admitted of publicity; and therefore 
the tellers of this part of the story had this advantage, 
that though they might not be credited they could 
not be detected. They could not be expected to prove 
it, because it was not one of those things that admitted 
of proof, and it was impossible that the people to 
whom it was told could prove it themselves. 

But the resurrection of Christ from the grave, and 
his ascension through the air, is a thing very different, 
as to the evidence it admits of, to the invisible con- 



FACTS^ TRUTHS AND REASONS. 11 

ception of a child in the womb. The resurrection and 
ascension, supposing them to have taken place, ad- 
mitted of public and ocular demonstration, like that of 
the ascension of a balloon, or the sun at noonday, to 
all Jerusalem at least. A thing which everybody is 
required to believe, requires that the proof and evi- 
dence of it should be equal to all, and universal ; and as 
the public visibility of this last related act was the 
only evidence that could give sanction to the former 
part, the whole of it falls to the ground because that 
evidence never was given. Instead of this, a small 
number of persons, not more than eight or nine, are in- 
troduced as proxies for the whole world, to say they 
saw it, and all the rest of the world are called upon to 
believe it. But it appears that Thomas did not be- 
lieve the resurrection ; and, as they say, would not 
believe without having ocular and manual demonstra- 
tion himself. So neither will I; and the reason is 
equally as good for me, and for every other person, as 
for Thomas. 

It is in vain to attempt to palliate or disguise this 
matter. The story, so far as relates to the supernat- 
ural part, has every mark of fraud and imposition 
stamped upon the face of it. Who were the authors 
of it is as impossible for us to now to know as it is for 
us to be assured that the books in which the account 
is related were written by the persons whose names 
they bear. The best surviving evidence we now have 
respecting this affair is the Jews. They are regularly 
descended from the people who lived in the times this 
resurrection and ascension is said to have happened, 
and they say, it is not true. It has long appeared to 
me a strange inconsistency to cite the Jews as a proof 



12 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

of the truth of the story. It is the same as if a man 
were to say, "I will prove the truth of what I have 
told you by producing the people who say it is false." 

That such a person as Jesus Christ existed, and that 
he was crucified — which was the mode of execution at 
that day — are historical relations strictly within the 
limits of probability. He preached most excellent mo- 
rality, and the equality of mankind; but he preached 
also against the corruptions and avarice of the Jewish 
priests; and this brought upon him the hatred and 
vengeance of the whole order of priesthood. The ac- 
cusation which those priests brought against him was 
that of sedition and conspiracy against the Roman 
government, to which the Jews were then subject and 
tributary; and it is not improbable that the Roman 
government might have some secret apprehension of 
the effects of his doctrine as well as the Jewish priests ; 
neither is it improbable that Jesus Christ had in con- 
templation the delivery of the Jewish nation from the 
bondage of the Romans. Between the two, however, 
this virtuous reformer and revolutionist lost his life. 

It is upon this plain narrative of facts, together with 
another case I am going to mention, that the Christian 
mythologists, calling themselves the Christian church, 
have erected their fable, which for absurdity and ex- 
travagance is not exceeded by anything that is to be 
found in the mythology of the ancients. 

The ancient mythologists tell that the race of Giants 
made war against Jupiter, and that one of them threw 
a hundred rocks against him at one throw ; that Jupiter 
defeated him with thunder, and confined him after- 
wards under Mount Etna ; and that every time the 
Giant turns himself, Mount Etna belches fire. It is 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONs! 13 

here easy to see that the circutnstance of the mountain, 
that of its being a volcano, suggested the idea of the 
fable ; and that the fable is made to fit and wind itself 
up with that circumstance. 

The Christian mythologists tell that their Satan 
made war against God, who defeated Satan, and con- 
fined Satan afterwards, not under a mountain, but in a 
pit. It is here easy to see that the first fable suggested 
the idea of the second; for the fable of Jupiter and 
the Giants was told many hundred years before that 
of Satan. 

Thus far the ancient and the Christian mythologists 
differ very little from each other. But the latter have 
contrived to carry the matter much farther. They have 
contrived to connect the fabulous part of the story of 
Jesus Christ with the fable originating from Mount 
Etna ; and, in order to make all the parts of the story 
tie together, they have taken to their aid the traditions 
of the Jews; for the Christian mythology is made up 
partly from the ancient mythology and partly from 
the Jewish traditions. 

The Christian mythologists, after having confined 
Satan in a pit, were obliged to let Satan out again, to 
bring on the sequel of the fable. He is then intro- 
duced into the garden of Eden in the shape of a snake 
or a serpent, and in that shape Satan enters into fa- 
miliar conversation with Eve, who is no way surprised 
to hear a snake talk ; and the issue of this tete-a-tete is, 
that he persuades Eve to eat an apple, and the eating 
of that apple damns all mankind. 

After giving Satan this triumph over God's power, 
one would have supposed that the church mythologists 
would have been kind enough to send him back again 



14 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

to the pit; or, if they had not done this, that they 
would have put a mountain upon him (for they say 
that their faith can remove a mountain), or have put 
Satan under a mountain, as the former mythologists 
had done, to prevent Satan's getting again among the 
women and doing more mischief. But instead of this, 
they leave Satan at large, without even obliging Satan 
to give Satan's parole — the secret of which is, that 
they could not do without Satan; and after being at 
the trouble of making Satan, they bribed Satan to stay. 
They promised him all the Jews, all the Turks by an- 
ticipation, nine-tenths of the world beside, and Ma- 
homet into the bargain. After this, who can doubt 
the bountifulness of the Christian mythology? 

Having thus made an insurrection and a battle in 
heaven, in which none of the combatants could be 
either killed or wounded — put Satan into the pit- 
let Satan out again — given Satan a triumph over the 
whole of God's dominions and damned all man- 
kind by the eating of an apple, these Christ- 
ian mythologists bring the two ends of their 
fable together. They represent this virtuous and 
amiable man, Jesus Christ, to be at once both God 
and human, and also the Son of God, celestially begot- 
ten, on purpose to be sacrificed, because they say that 
Eve in her longing had eaten an apple. 

Putting aside everything that might excite laughter 
by its absurdity, or detestation by its profaneness, and 
confining ourselves merely to an examination of the 
parts, it is impossible to conceive a story more derog- 
atory to Infinite God, more inconsistent with intelli- 
gence, more contradictory to God's power, than this 
story is. In order to make for it a foundation to rise 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 15 

Upon, the inventors were under the necessity of giving 
to a Devil whom they call Satan a power equally as 
great, if not greater than they attribute to the God of 
all eternity. They have not only given Satan the 
power of self-liberation from the pit, after what they 
call Satan's fall, but they have made that power in- 
crease afterwards to infinity. Before this fall they 
represent Satan only as having a limited existence, as 
they represent the rest. After Satan's fall Satan be- 
comes, by their account, omnipresent. Satan exists 
everywhere, and at the same time. Satan occupies 
the whole immensity of space. 

Not content with this deification of Satan, they rep- 
resent Satan as defeating, by stratagem, in the shape 
of an animal of their own make, having all the power 
and intelligence of God. They represent Satan as hav- 
ing compelled God to the direct necessity either of 
surrendering the whole of God's possessions to the 
government and sovereignty of Satan or of capitu- 
lating for its redemption by coming down upon earth 
and exhibiting God's self upon a cross in the shape 
of a man. 

Had the inventors of this story told it the contrary 
way — that is, had they represented God as compelling 
Satan to exhibit Satin's self on a cross in the shape 
of a snake, as a punishment for Satan's new transgres- 
sion — the story would have been less absurd — less 
contradictory. But, instead of this, they make the 
transgressor triumph and God fall. 

That many good people have believed this strange 
fable, and lived very good lives under that belief (for 
credulity is not a crime), is what I have no doubt of. 
In the first place, they were educated to believe it, 



16 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

and they would have beheved anything else in the 
same manner. There are also many who have been 
so enthusiastically enraptured by what they conceived 
to be the infinite love of God for the human race in 
making a sacrifice of God's self, that the vehemence 
of the idea has forbidden and deterred them from ex- 
amining into the absurdity and profaneness of the 
story. The more unnatural anything is, the more is 
it capable of becoming the object of dismal admir- 
ation. 

But if objects for gratitude and admiration are our 
desire, do they not present themselves every hour to 
our eyes? Do we not see everything prepared to re- 
ceive us the instant we were born — a world furnished 
to our hands that cost us nothing? Is it we that light 
up the sun, that.pour down the rain, and fill the earth 
with abundance? Whether we sleep or wake the 
vast machinery of the universe still goes on. Are 
these things, and the blessings they indicate in fu- 
ture, nothing to us? Can our gross feelings be ex- 
cited by no other subjects than tragedy and suicide? 
Or is the gloomy pride of the human race become so 
intolerable that nothing can flatter them but a sacri- 
fice of a God? 

I know that this bold investigation will alarm many, 
but it would be paying too great a compliment to their 
credulity to forbear it upon that account. The times 
and the subject demand it to be done. The suspicion 
that the theory of what is called the Christian church 
is fabulous is becoming very extensive in all coun- 
tries ; and it will be a consolation to all people stag- 
gering under that suspicion, and doubting what to 
believe and what to disbelieve, to see the subject 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 17 

freely investigated. I therefore pass on to an exami- 
nation of the books called the Old and the New Testa- 
ment. 

These books, beginning with Genesis and ending 
with Revelation (which, by the bye, is a book of rid- 
dles that requires a revelation to explain it), which 
we are told, is the volition of God. It is, therefore, 
proper for us to know who told us so, that 
we may know what credit to give to the 
report. The answer to this question is, that nobody 
can tell, except that we tell one another so. The case, 
however, historically, appears to be as follows : 

When the church mythologists established their 
system they collected all the writings they could find, 
and managed them as they pleased. It is a matter 
altogether of uncertainty to us whether such of the 
writings as now appear under the name of the Old 
and the New Testament are in the same state in 
which those collectors say they found them ; or wheth- 
er they added, altered, abridged, or dressed them up. 

Be this as it may, they decided by vote which of the 
books, out of the collection they had made, should be 
the volition of God, and which should not. They re- 
jected several ; they voted others to be doubtful, such 
as the books called the Apocrypha; and those books 
which had a majority of votes were voted to be the 
volition of God. Had they voted otherwise, all the 
people, since calling themselves Christians, had be- 
lieved otherwise — for the belief of the one comes from 
the vote of the other. Who the people were that did 
all this, we know nothing of; they called themselves 
by the general name of the church ; and this is all we 
know of the matter. 



18 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

As we have no other external evidence or authority 
for believing those books to be the volition of God 
than what I have mentioned, which is no evidence or 
authority at all, I come, in the next place, to examine 
the internal evidence contained in the books them- 
selves. 

In the former part of this Essay I have spoken of 
revelation. I now proceed further with that subject, 
for the purpose of applying it to the books in ques- 
tion. 

Revelation is a communication of something which 
the person to whom that thing is revealed did not 
know before. For if I have done a thing, or seen 
it done, it needs no revelation to tell me I have done 
it, or seen it, nor to enable me to tell it, or to write it. 

Revelation, therefore, cannot be applied to anything 
done upon the earth of which the people are the 
actors or the witnesses ; and consequently all the his- 
torical and anecdotal part of the Bible, which is al- 
most the whole of it, is not within the meaning and 
compass of the word revelation, and, therefore, is 
not the volition of God. 

When Samson ran off with the gate-posts of Gaza, 
if he ever did so (and whether he did or not is nothing 
to us), or when he visited his Delilah, or caught his 
foxes, or did anything else, what has revelation to do 
with these things? If they were facts, he could tell 
them himself; or his secretary, if he kept one, could 
write them, if th'ey were worth either telling or writ- 
ing; and if they were fictions, revelation could not 
make them true ; and whether true or not, we are 
neither the better nor the wiser for knowing them. 
When we contemplate the immensity of that infinite 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 19 

impulse of Intelligence God who directs and governs 
the incomprehensible whole, of which the utmost ken 
of human sight can discover but a part, we ought to 
feel ashamed at calling such paltry stories the volition 
of God. 

As to the account of the creation, which is a myth, 
as the eternal things never were created, with which 
the book of Genesis opens, it has all the appearance 
of being a tradition which the Israelites had. among 
them before they came into Egypt; and after their 
departure from that country they put it at the head 
of their history, without telling — as it is most prob- 
able they did not know — how they came by it. The 
manner in which the account opens show^s it to be 
traditionary. It begins abruptly. It is nobody that 
speaks. It is nobody that hears. It is addressed to 
nobody. It has neither first, second, nor third per- 
son. It has every criterion of being a tradition. It 
has no voucher. Moses does not take it upon him- 
self by introducing it with the formality that he uses 
on other occasions, such as that of saying, "The Lord 
spake unto Moses, saying." 

Why it has been called the Mosaic account of the 
creation, a thing that never could have taken place, 
as all the eternal things never were created, I am 
at a loss to conceive. Moses, I believe, was too good 
a judge of such subjects to put his name to that ac- 
count. He had been educated among the Egyptians, 
who were a people as well skilled in science, and 
particularly in astronomy, as any people of their day; 
and the silence and caution that Moses observes, in 
not authenticating the account, is a good negative 
evidence that he neither told it nor believed it. The 



20 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

case is that every nation of people has been world- 
makers, and the Israelites had as much right to set 
up the trade of world-mxaking as any of the rest; and 
as Moses was not an Israelite, he might not choose 
to contradict the tradition. The account, however, is 
harmless ; and this is more than can be said for many 
other parts of the Bible. 

When we read the obscene .stories, the voluptuous 
debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the 
unrelenting vindictiveness with which more than half 
the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that 
we called it the work of a demon than the volition 
of God. It is a history of wickedness, that has served 
to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my 
own part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything 
that is cruel. 

We scarcely m.eet with anything, a few phrases ex- 
cepted, but what deserves either our abhorrence or our 
contempt, till we come to the miscellaneous parts of 
the Bible. In the anonymous publications, the Psalms 
and -the book of Job — more particularly in the lat- 
ter — we find a great deal of elevated sentiment rever- 
entially expressed of the power and benignity of God, 
but they stand on no higher rank than many other 
compositions on similar subjects, as well before that 
time or since. 

The Proverbs, which are said to be Solomon's, 
though, most probably a collection (because they dis- 
cover a knowledge of life which his situation excluded 
him from knowing), are an instructive table of ethics. 
They are inferior in keenness to the proverbs of the 
Spaniards, and not more wise and economical than 
those of the American Franklin. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 21 

All the remaining parts of the Bible, generally 
known by the name of the Prophets, are the works of 
the Jewish poets and itinerant preachers, who mixed 
poetry, anecdote, and devotion together; and those 
works still retain the air and style of poetry, though in 
translation. 

As there are many readers who do not see that a 
composition is poetry unless it be in rhyme, it is for 
their information that I add this note. 

Poetry consists principally in two things : imagery 
and composition. The composition of poetry differs 
from that of prose in the manner of mixing long and 
short syllables together. Take a long syllable out of 
a line of poetry and put a short one in the room of it, 
or put a long syllable where a short one should be, 
and that line will lose its poetical harmony. It will 
have an effect upon the line like that of misplacing 
a note in a song. 

The imagery in these books, called the prophets, 
appertains altogether to poetry. It is fictitious, and 
often extravagant, and not admissible in any other 
kind of writing than poetry. 

To show that these writings are composed in poeti- 
cal numbers, I will take ten syllables as they stand 
in the book and make a line of the same number of 
syllables (heroic measure) that shall rhyme with the 
last word. It will then be seen that the composition 
of these books Is poetical measure. The Instance I 
shall produce Is from Isaiah : 

"Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth !" 
'Tis God himself that calls attention forth. 

Another Instance I shall quote Is from the mournful 
Jeremiah, to which I shall add two other lines, for the 



22 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

purpose of carrying out the figure and showing the 
intention of the poet: 

'*Oh ! that mine head were waters, and mine eyes" 

Were fountains flowing Hke the liquid skies; 
Then would I give the mighty flood release, 
And weep a deluge for the human race. 

There is not throughout the whole book called the 
Bible any word that describes to us what we call a 
poet, nor any word that describes what we call poetry. 
The case is, that the word prophet, to which latter 
times have fixed a new idea, was the Bible word for 
poet, and the word prophesying meant the art of mak- 
ing poetry.- It also meant the art of playing poetry 
to a tune upon any instrument of music. 

We read of prophesying with pipes, tabrets, and 
horns — of prophesying with harps, with psalteries, 
with cymbals, and with every other instrument of 
music then in fashion. Were we now to speak of 
prophesying with a fiddle, or with a pipe and tabor, 
the expression would have no meaning, or would ap- 
pear ridiculous, and to some people contemptous, 
because we have changed the meaning of the word. 

We are told of Saul being among the prophets, and 
also that he prophesied ; but we are not told what they 
prophesied, nor what he prophesied. The case is, 
there was nothing to tell ; for these prophets were a 
company of musicians and poets, and Saul joined in 
the concert; and this was called prophesying. 

The account given of this afifair in the book called 
Samuel is, that Saul met a company of prophets — a 
whole company of them! coming down with a psaltery, 
a tabret, a pipe, and a harp, and that they prophesied, 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 23 

and that he prophesied with them. But it appears 
afterwards that Saul prophesied badly; that is, he 
performed his part badly; for it is said that "an evil 
spirit from God" came upon Saul, and he prophesied. 

(As those men who call themselves divines and com- 
mentators are very fond of puzzling one another, I 
leave them to contest the meaning of the first part 
of the phrase, that of an evil spirit from God, and keep 
to my text — keep to the meaning of the word proph- 
esy.) 

Now, were there no other passage in the book called 
the Bible than this to demonstrate to us that we have 
lost the original meaning of the word prophesy and 
substituted another meaning in its place, this alone 
would be sufficient; for it is impossible to use and 
apply the word prophesy in the place it is here used 
and applied, if we give to it the sense which latter 
times have affixed to it. The manner in which it is 
here used strips it of all religious meaning and shows 
that a man might then be a prophet, or he might 
prophesy, as he may now be a poet or musician, with- 
out any regard to the morality or immorality of his 
character. The word was originally a term of science, 
promiscuously applied to poetry and to music, and 
not restricted to any subject upon which poetry and 
music might be exercised. 

Deborah and Barak are called prophets, not because 
they predicted anything, but because they composed 
the poem or song that bears their name in celebration 
of an act already done. David is ranked among the 
prophets, for he was a musician, and was also re- 
puted to be (though perhaps very erroneously) the 
author of the Psalms. But Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 



'24 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

are not called prophets; it does not appear from any 
accounts we have that they could either sing, play 
music, or make poetry. 

We are told of the greater and the lesser prophets. 
They might as well tell us of the greater and the lesser 
God; for there cannot be degrees in prophesying con- 
sistently with its modern sense. But there are de- 
grees in poetry, and therefore the phrase is recon- 
cilable to the case when we understand by it the 
greater and the lesser poets. 

It is altogether unnecessary, after this, to offer any 
observations upon what those men, styled prophets, 
have written. The axe goes at once to the root by 
showing that the original meaning of the word has 
been mistaken, and consequently all the inferences 
that have been drawn from those books, the devo- 
tional respect that has been paid to them, and the 
labored commentaries that have been written upon 
them, under that mistaken meaning, are not worth 
disputing about. In many things, however, the writ- 
ings of the Jewish poets deserve a better fate than 
that of being bound up, as they now are, with the 
trash that accompanies them under the abused name 
of the volition of God. 

If we permit ourselves to conceive right ideas of 
things, we must necessarily affix the idea, not only 
of unchangeableness, but of the utter impossibility of 
any change taking place, by any means or accident 
whatever, in that which we would honor with the 
name of the volition of God; and therefore the voli- 
tion of God can not exist in any written or human 
language. 

The continually progressive change to which the 



FACTS^ TRUTHS AND REASONS. 25 

meaning of words is subject, the want of a universal 
language, which renders translations necessary, the 
errors to which translations are again subject, the 
mistakes of copyists and printers, together with the 
possibility of alteration, are of themselves evidences 
that human language, whether in speech or in print, 
cannot be the vehicle of the volition of God. The 
volition of God exists in something else. 

Did the book called the Bible excel in purity of ideas 
and expression all the books now extant in the world, 
I would not take it for my rule of faith as being the 
volition of God, because the possibility would never- 
theless exist of my being imposed upon. But when I 
see throughout the greater part of this book scarcely 
anything but a history of the' grossest vices, and a 
collection of the most paltry and contemptible tales, 
I can not dishonor my judgment by calling it by such 
sacred name. 

Thus much for the Bible ; I now go on to the book 
called the New Testament. The new Testament! 
That is, the new will — as if there could be two wills 
of God. 

Had it been the object or the intention of Jesus 
Christ to establish a new religion, he would undoubt- 
edly have written the system himself, or caused it 
to be written in his lifetime. But there is no publica- 
tion extant authenticated with his name. All the 
books called the New Testament were written after 
his death. He was a Jew by birth and profession ; and 
he was the son of God in like manner that all 
other men are, and no further. God being infinite 
Intelligence, not a he or a she God. 

The first four books, called Matthew, Mark, Luke, 



26 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

and John, do not give a history of the life of Jesus 
Christ, but only detached anecdotes of him. It ap- 
pears from these books that the whole time of his be- 
ing a preacher was not more than eighteen months; 
and it was only during this short time that those men 
became acquainted with him. They make mention 
of him at the age of twelve years, sitting, they say, 
among the Jewish doctors, asking and answering them 
questions. As this was several years before their 
acquaintance with him began, it is most probable 
they had this anecdote from his parents. From this 
time there is no account of him for about sixteen years. 
Where he lived, or how he employed himself during 
this interval, is not known. Most probably he was 
working at his father's trade, which was that of a 
carpenter. It does not appear that he had any school 
education, and the probability is that he could not 
write, for his parents were extremely poor, as appears 
from their not being able to pay for a bed when he 
was born. 

It is somewhat curious that the three persons whose 
names are the most universally recorded were of very 
obscure parentage. Moses was a foundling, Jesus 
Christ was born in a stable, and Mahomet was a mule 
driver. The first and the last of these men were 
founders of different systems of religion; but Jesus 
Christ, the unlawfully begotten son of a Jewish priest 
called the Holy Ghost (a nickname for the word God) 
founded no new system. He called the people to the 
practice of moral virtues, and the belief in a future 
existence, no matter how erroneous that might have 
been. He was only a man born of a woman, not a 
son of God any more than all men are, and when any 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 27 

Christian priest or preacher in any church gets an 
overload of pious cant in explaining the miraculous 
emaculate conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy 
Ghost, the people should at once leave the church, as 
there is not a learned man or woman in the world 
that believes such detestable filthy twaddle, and such 
talk is a mass of ignorance, too big a lie to be told, 
and too indecent for children to hear. The great 
trait in this spurious Messiah's character was phi- 
lanthropy. 

The manner in which he was apprehended shows 
that he was not much known at that time; and it 
shows also that the meetings he then held with his 
followers were in secret ; and that he had given over or 
suspended preaching publicly. Judas could no other- 
wise betray him than by giving information where he 
was, and pointing him out to the officers that went 
to arrest him ; and the reason for employing and pay- 
ing Judas to do this could arise only from the causes 
already mentioned — that of his not being much known, 
and living concealed. 

The idea of his concealment not only agrees very 
ill with his reputed divinity, but associates with it 
something of pusillanimity; and his being betrayed, 
or in other words, his being apprehended on the infor- 
mation of one of his followers, shows that he did not 
intend to be apprehended, and consequently that he 
did not intend to be crucified. 

The Christian mythologists tell us that Christ died 
for the sins of the world, and that he came on purpose 
to die. Would it not then have been the same if he 
had died of a fever or of the small-pox, of old age, or 
of anything else? 



28 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

The declaratory sentence which they say was passed 
upon Adam, in case he ate of the apple, was not that 
thou shall surely be crucified, but, thou shalt surely 
die — the sentence was death, and not the manner of 
dying. Crucifixion, therefore, or any other particular 
manner of dying made no part of the sentence that 
Adam was to suffer; and consequently, even upon 
their own tactics, it could make no part of the sen- 
tence Christ was to suffer in lieu of Adam. A fever 
would have done as well as a cross, if there was any 
occasion for either. 

This sentence of death, which they tell us, was thus 
passed upon Adam, must either have meant dy 
ing naturally — that is, ceasing to live — or have meant 
what these mythologists call damnation; and conse- 
quently, the act of dying on the part of Jesus Christ 
must, according to their system, apply as a prevention 
to one or other of these two things happening to 
Adam and to us. - 

That it does not prevent our dying is evident, be- 
cause we all die ; and if their accounts of longevity be 
true, people die faster since the crucifixion than before ; 
and with respect to the second explanation (including 
with it the natural death of Jesus Christ as a substi- 
tute for the eternal death or damnation of all man- 
kind), it is impertinently representing God as coming 
off, or revoking the sentence, by a pun or quibble upon 
the word death. That manufacturer of quibbles, St. 
Paul, if he wrote the books that bear his name, has 
helped this quibble on by making another quibble 
upon the word Adam. He makes there to be two 
Adams — the one who sins in fact, and suffers by 
proxy; the other who sins by proxy, and suffers in 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 29 

fact. A religion thus interlarded with quibble, sub- 
terfuge, and pun has a tendency to instruct its pro- 
fessors in the practice of these arts. They acquire 
the habit without being aware of the cause. 

If Jesus Christ was the Being which those mytholo- 
gists tell us he was, and if he came into this world to 
suffer, which is a word they sometimes use instead 
of to die, the only real suffering he could have en- 
dured would have been to live. His existence here 
was a state of exilement or transportation from Heav- 
en, and the way back to his original country was to 
die. In fine, everything in this strange system is the 
reverse of what it pretends to be. It is the reverse 
of truth, and I become so tired with examining into 
its inconsistencies and absurdities that I hasten to the 
conclusion of it, in order to proceed to something 
better. 

How much, or what parts, of the books called the 
New Testament were written by the persons whose 
names they bear is what we can know nothing of; 
neither are we certain in what language they were 
originally written. The matters they now contain 
may be classed under two heads — anecdote and epis- 
tolary correspondence. 

The four books already mentioned — Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, and John — are altogether anecdotal. They relate 
events after they had taken place. They tell what 
Jesus Christ did and said, and what others did and 
said to him; and in several instances they relate the 
same event differently. Revelation is necessarily out 
of the question with respect to those books ; not only 
because of the disagreement of the writers, but be- 
cause revelation cannot be applied to the relating of 



30 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

facts by the person who saw them done, nor to the re- 
lating or recording of any discourse or conversation 
by those who heard it. The books called the Acts of 
the Apostles (an anonymous work) belongs also to the 
anecdotal part. 

All the other parts of the New Testament, except 
the book of enigmas called Revelation, are a collec- 
tion of letters under the name of epistles ; and the 
forgery of letters has been such a common practice in 
the world, that the probability is at least equal whether 
they are genuine or forged. One thing, however, is 
much less equivocal, which is, that out of the matters 
contained in those books, together with the assistance 
of some old stories, the church has set up a system 
of religion very contradictory to the character of the 
person whose name it bears. It has set up a religion 
of pomp and of revenue in pretended imitation of a 
person whose life was humility and poverty. 

The invention of a purgatory, and of the releasing of 
souls therefrom by prayers bought of the church with 
money; the selling of pardons, dispensations, and in- 
dulgences are revenue laws, without bearing that name 
or carrying that appearance. But the case nevertheless 
is, that those things derive their origin from the 
proxyism of the crucifixion, and the theory deduced 
therefrom, which was that one person could stand in 
the lieu of another, and could perform meritorious 
services for that person. The probability, therefore, 
is that the whole theory or doctrine of what is called 
the redemption (which is said to have been accom- 
plished by the act of one person in the lieu of another) 
was originally fabricated on purpose to bring forward 
and build all those secondary and pecuniary redemp- 



PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 31 

tions Upon; and that the passages in the books upon 
which the idea or theory of redemption is built, have 
been manufactured and fabricated for that purpose. 
Why are we to give the church credit who tells us 
that those books are genuine in every part, any more 
than we give the church credit for everything else the 
church has told us ; or for the miracles the church 
says the church has performed? That the church 
could fabricate writings is certain, because the church 
could write ; and the composition of the writings in 
question is of that kind that anybody might do it ; and 
that the church did fabricate them is not more incon- 
sistent with probability than that the church should 
tell us, as the church has done, that the church could 
and did work miracles. 

Since, then, no external evidence can, at this long 
distance of time, be produced to prove whether the 
church fabricated the doctrine called redemption or 
not (for such evidence, whether for or against, would 
be subject to the same suspicion of being fabricated), 
the case can only be referred to the internal evidence 
which the thing carries of itself; and this affords a 
very strong presumption of its being a fabrication. 
For the internal evidence is that the theory or doctrine 
of redemption has for its basis an idea of pecuniary 
justice, and not that of moral justice. 

If I owe a person money, and cannot pay that per- 
son, and that person threatens to put me in prison, 
another person can take the obligation and pay it for 
me ; but if I have committed a crime every circum- 
stance of the case is changed. Moral justice cannot 
take the innocent for the guilty, even if the innocent 
would offer itself. To suppose justice to do this is to 



32 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

destroy the principle of its existence, which is the 
thing itself. It is then no longer justice. It is indis- 
criminate revenge. 

This single reflection will show that the doctrine of 
redemption is founded on a mere pecuniary idea cor- 
responding to that of a debt which another person 
might pay; and as this pecuniary idea corresponds 
again with the system of second redemptions obtained 
through the means of money given to the church for 
pardons, the probability is that the same person fab- 
ricated both the one and the other of those theories; 
and that, in truth, there is no such thing as redemp- 
tion; that it is fabulous and that people stand in the 
same relative condition with their God, they ever did 
stand since human race existed; ^.nd that it is their 
greatest consolation to think so. 

Let them believe this, and they will live more con- 
sistently and morally than by any other system. It is 
by their being taught to contemplate themselves as 
outlaws, as outcasts, as beggars, as mumpers, as if 
thrown as it were on a dunghill at an immense dis- 
tance from their God, and who must make their ap- 
proaches by creeping to intermediate beings, that 
they conceive either a contemptuous disregard for 
everything under the name of religion, or become 
indifferent, or turn what they call devout. In the 
latter case they consume their lives in grief or the 
affectation of it. Their prayers are reproaches. Their 
humility is ingratitude. They call themselves worms, 
and the fertile earth a dunghill, and all the blessings 
of life by the thankless name of vanity. They despise 
the choicest gifts of God to the human race, the gift 
of reason ; and having endeavored to force upon them- 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 33 

selves the belief of a system against which reason 
revolts, they ungratefully call it human reason, as if 
the human race could give reason to themselves. Yet, 
with all this strange appearance of humility, and this 
contempt for human reason they venture into the 
boldest presumption. They find fault with every- 
thing. Their selfishness is never satisfied. Their in- 
gratitude is never at an end. They take on them- 
selves to direct God what to do even in the govern- 
ment of the universe. Their prayers are dictatorially. 
When it is sunshine their prayers are for rain; and 
when it rains, they pray for sunshine. They follow 
the same idea in everything that they pray for; for 
what are the amount of all their prayers but an at- 
tempt to make the infinite God change God's mind, 
and act otherwise than God does act. It is as if to 
say to God, thou knowest not so well as we do. But 
some will say, are we to have no influence with God, 
no revelation. I answer, yes. There is a volition of 
God's beneficence right before your eyes all the time; 
and that is God's revelation to all mankind. The 
volition of God is the universe, the astronomical view 
of the eternal heavens, and the geological view of the 
earth we behold, that communes with us and it is this 
view, which no human invention can counterfeit or 
alter, that God speaketh universally to mankind. 

Human language is local and changeable, and is 
therefore incapable of being used as the means of un- 
changeable and universal information. The idea that 
God sent Jesus Christ to publish, as they say, the glad 
tidings to all nations, from one end of the earth unto 
the other, is consistent only with the ignorance of 
those who knew nothing of the extent of the world, 



34 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

and who believed, as those world-saviors believed and 
continued to believe for several centuries (and that in 
contradiction to the discoveries of philosophers and 
the experience of navigators), that the earth was flat 
like a trencher, and that a person might walk to the 
end of it. 

But how was Jesus Christ to make anything known 
to all nations? He could speak but one language, 
which was Hebrew, and there are in the world several 
hundred languages. Scarcely any two nations speak 
the same language, or understand each other; and as 
to translations, every person who knows anything of 
languages knows that it is impossible to translate from 
one language into another, not only without losing 
a great part of the original, but frequently of mistak- 
ing the sense ; and, besides all this, the art of printing 
was wholly unknown at the time Christ lived. 

It is always necessary that the means that are to 
accomplish any end be equal to the accomplishment 
of that end, or the end cannot be accomplished. It i's 
in this that the difference between finite and infinite 
power force and intelligence discovers itself. People 
frequently fail in accomplishing their ends from a 
natural inability of applying power and force to the 
purpose ; and frequently from the want of force and in- 
telligence to apply power and force properly. But it is 
impossible for infinite intelligence to fail as man fail- 
eth. The means it useth are always equal to the end ; 
but human language, more especially as there is not a 
universal language, is incapable of being used as a 
universal means of unchangeable and uniform infor- 
mation : and therefore it is not the means that God 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. * 35 

useth in manifesting God's volition universally to 
mankind. It is only in the contemplation of God's 
impulse, power and force in governing and controling 
in perfect harmony the universe as well as all things 
earthly, in a universal language, independently of 
human speech, or human language, multiplied and 
various as they be. It is an ever-existing original 
which every person can read. It can not be forged; 
it can not be counterfeited ; it can not be lost ; it can- 
not be altered; it can not be suppressed. It does not 
depend upon the will of the human race whether it 
shall be published or not; it publishes itself to the 
vision of every human being. It preaches to all na- 
tions, and to all worlds, and this is the volition of 
God revealed to all mankind, all that is necessary for 
the human race to know of Intelligence God. If we 
want to contemplate the force, power and impulse by 
which God rules and governs, we see it in all the 
harmonious action in the universe and throughout in- 
finite space. If we want to contemplate God's mercy, 
we see in it in not withholding that abundance even 
from the unthankful. In fine, do we want to know 
what God is? Search not the Hebrew and Christian 
Bible, which any human hand might make, but search 
the Bible of Facts. Truths and Reasons based on the 
sciences of the earth, the eternal heavens (The Great 
Moral Way). 

Intelligence God being eternal and infinite can not 
be fully comprehended by the human race, who are 
only possessed of finite intelligence, and the finite can 
never fully comprehend the infinite. In order to com- 
prehend the infinite Intelligence God bur intelligence 



36 • THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

must be equal to or superior to infinite intelligence, 
which is forever beyond the reach of our finite intelli- 
gence, and the same rule applies to all the eternal 
things, all of which never had a beginning, nor never 
will cease to exist, and there is no such a thing as 
creation. Human finite intelligence can conceive of 
forming things out of material that exist, and it is 
insanity for any person to claim that things can be 
formed out of material that does not exist, or to form 
something out of nothing. Therefore the w^ord cre- 
ation is one of the world's greatest and superlative 
humbugs, and word creator is another myth. All 
the eternal things always existed, at least it is not 
possible for human finite intelligence to conceive 
where an eternal thing could begin to exist, or where 
an eternal could cease to exist. 

It is only by the exercise of reason that man can 
discover God. Take away that reason and he would 
be incapable of understanding anything; and, in this 
case, it would be just as consistent to read even the 
book called the Bible to a horse as to a person. How, 
then, is it that those people pretend to reject reason? 

Almost the only parts in the book called the Bible 
that convey to us any idea of God are some chapters 
in Job, and the Godley Psalm; I recollect no other. 
Those parts are true compositions; for they treat of 
God through God's works. They take the book of 
formation as the volition of God; they refer to no 
other book; and all the inferences they make are 
drawn from that volume. 

I insert in this place the nineteenth Psalm, as para- 
phrased into English verse by Addison. I recollect 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 37 

not the prose, and where I write this I have not the 

opportunity of seeing it : 

The spacious firmament on high, 
With all the blue ethereal sky, 
And spangled heavens, a shining frame. 
Their great original proclaim. 

The unwearied sun, from day to day, 
Does infinite God's power display. 
And publishes to every land 
The force that made us of dusty sand. 

Soon as the evening shades prevail 
The moon takes up the wondrous tale. 
And nightly to the listening earth 
Repeats the story of its birth ; 

Whilst all the stars that round it burn 
And all the planets, in their turn, 
Confirm the tidings as they roll 
And spread the truth from pole to pole. 

What though in solemn silence all 
Move round this dark terrestrial ball; 
What though no real voice, nor sound, 
Amidst their radiant orbs be found, 

In reason's ear they all rejoice. 
And utter forth a glorious voice; 
Forever singing as they shine, 
The power that makes us is Divine. 

What more does the human race want to know than 
that the impulse of God that caused these things is 
divine, is omnipotent? Let people believe this with 



38 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

the force it is impossible to repel, if they permit their 
reason to act, and their rule of moral life will follow 
of course. 

The allusions in Job have, all of them, the same ten- 
dency with this Psalm; that of deducing or proving 
a truth, that would otherwise be unknown, from 
truths already known. 

I recollect not enough of the passages in Job to 
insert them correctly; but there is one that occurs to 
me that is applicable to the subject I am speaking 
upon: ''Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst 
thou find out God to perfection?" 

I know not how the printers have pointed this pas- 
sage, for I keep no Bible; but it contains two distinct 
questions that admit of distinct answers. 

First — Canst thou by searching find out God? Yes; 
because, in the first place, I know I did not make 
myself, and yet I have existence; and by searching 
into the nature of other things, I find that no other 
thing could make itself; and yet millions of other 
things exist ; therefore it is that I know, by positive 
conclusion resulting from this search, that intelligence 
is the impulsive force superior to all those things, and 
that force is God. 

Secondly^Canst thou find out God to perfection? 
No; not only because the power and force of infinite 
intelligence manifested in the structure of the eternal 
heavens that we behold is to me incomprehensible; 
but because even this manifestation, great as it is, is 
probably but a small display of that immensity of 
power, force and intelligence by which millions of 
other worlds, to me invisible by their distance, were 
there existing and continue to exist. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 39 

It is evident that both these questions were put to 
the reason of the person to whom they are supposed to 
have been addressed; and it is only by admitting the 
first question to be answered affirmatively that the 
second could follow. It would have been unnecessary, 
and even absurd, to have put a second question more 
difficult than the first, if the first question had been 
answered negatively. The two questions have dif- 
ferent objects; the first refers to the existence of God, 
the second to God's attributes. Reason can discover 
the one, but it falls infinitely short in discovering the 
whole of the other. 

I recollect not a single passage in all the writings 
ascribed to the men called apostles that conveys any 
idea of what God is. Those writings are chiefly con- 
troversial; and the gloominess of the subject they 
dwell upon, that of a man dying in agony on a cross, 
is better suited to the gloomy genius of a monk in a 
cell, by whom it is not impossible they were written, 
than to any person breathing the open air of human 
reason. The only passage that occurs to me, that has 
any reference to the works of God, by which only 
God's power and intelligence can be known, is related 
to have been spoken by Jesus Christ as a remedy 
against distrustful care. "Consider the lilies of the 
field, how they grow^* they toil not, neither do they 
spin." This, however, is far inferior to the allusions 
in Job and in the nineteenth Psalm ; but it is similar 
in idea, and the modesty of the imagery is correspond- 
ing to the modesty of Jesus Christ. 

As to the Christian system of faith, it appears to me 
as a species of unbelief — a sort of religious denial of 
God. It professes to believe in a man-God rather than 



40 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

in God. It is a compound made up chiefly of manism, 
with but little Godism, and is as near to unbelief as 
twilight is to darkness. It introduces between man- 
kind and their Maker an opaque body, which it calls a 
Redeemer, as the moon introduces its opaque self be- 
tween the earth and the sun ; and it produces by this 
means a religious or an irreligious eclipse of light. 
It has put the whole orb of reason into shade. 

The effect of this obscurity has been that of turning 
everything upside down, and representing it in re- 
verse; and, among the revolutions it has thus magi- 
cally produced, it has made a revolution in theology. 

That which is now called natural philosophy, em- 
bracing the whole circle of science, of which astron- 
omy occupies the chief place, is the study of the 
works of God, and of the power and intelligence of 
God in God's works, and is the true theology. 

As to the theology that is now studied in its place, 
it is the study of human opinions and of human fan- 
cies concerning God. It is not the study of God in 
th« works that God has made, but in the works or 
writings that people have made; and it is not among 
the least of the mischiefs that the Christian system 
has done to the world, that it has abandoned the 
original and beautiful system of theology, like a beau- 
tiful innocent, to distress and reproach, to make room 
for the hag of superstition. 

The book of Job and the nineteenth Psalm, which 
even the church admits to be more ancient than the 
chronological order in which they stand in the book 
called the Bible, are theological orations conformable 
to the original system of theology. The internal evi- 
dence of those orations proves to a demonstration that 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 41 

the Study and contemplation of the works of eternity, 
and of the power force and impulse of God, revealed 
and manifested in those works, made a great part of 
the religious devotion of the times in which they were 
written ; and it was this devotional study and contem- 
plation that led to the discovery of the principles upon 
which what are now called sciences are established; 
and it is to the discovery of these principles that al- 
most all the arts that contribute to the convenience 
of human life owe their existence. Every principal 
art has some science for its parent, though the person 
who mechanically performs the work does not always, 
and but very seldom, perceive the connection. 

It is a fraud of the Christian system to call the 
sciences human inventions; it is only the application 
of them that is human. Every science has for its 
basis a system of principles as fixed and unalterable 
as those by which the universe is regulated and gov- 
erned. Mankind cannot make principles; they can 
only discover them. 

For example, every person who looks at an almanac 
sees an account when an eclipse will take place, and 
he sees also that it never fails to take place according 
to the account there given. This shows that people 
are acquainted with the laws by which the heavenly 
bodies move. But it would be something worse than 
ignorance were any church on earth to say that those 
laws are a human invention. It would also be ignor- 
ance, or something worse, to say that the scientific 
principles, by the aid of which people are enabled to 
calculate and foreknow when an eclipse will take 
place, are a human invention. Mankind cannot in- 
vent anything that is eternal and immutable, and the 



42 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

scientific principles they employ for this purpose must 
be, and are, of necessity, as eternal and immutable 
as the laws by which the heavenly bodies move, or 
they could not be used as they are to ascertain the 
time when, and the manner how, an eclipse will take 
place. 

The scientific principles that people employ to ob- 
tain the foreknowledge of an eclipse, or of any thing 
else relating to the motion of the heavenly bodies, are 
contained chiefly in that part of science that is called 
trigonometry, or the property of a triangle, which, 
when applied to the study of the heavenly bodies, is 
called astronomy; when applied to direct the course 
of a ship on the ocean, it is called navigation ; when 
applied to the construction of figures drawn by rule 
and compass, it is called geometry; when applied to 
the construction of plans of edifices, it is called archi- 
tecture; when applied to the measurement of any 
portion of the surface of the earth, it is called land- 
surveying. In fine, it is the soul of science. It is 
an eternal truth ; it contains the mathematical demon- 
stration of which people speak, and the extent of its 
uses is unknown. 

It may be said that people can make or draw a tri- 
angle, and therefore a triangle is a human invention. 

But the triangle, when drawn, is no other than the 
image of the principle ; it is a delineation to the eye, 
and from thence to the mind, of a principle that would 
otherwise be imperceptible. The triangle does not 
make the principle, any more than a lamp, taken into 
a room that was dark, makes the chairs and tables 
that before were invisible. All the properties of a 
triangle exist independently of the figure, and existed 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 43 

before any triangle was drawn or thought of by man- 
kind. The people had no more to do in the formation 
of those properties, or principles, than they had to do 
in making the laws by which the heavenly bodies 
move; and therefore the one must have the same 
divine origin as the other. 

In the same manner as it may be said that people 
can make a triangle, so also may it be said they can 
make the mechanical instrument called a lever; but 
the principle by which the lever acts is a thing distinct 
from the instrument, and would exist if the instrument 
did not; it attaches itself to the instrument after it is 
made; the instrument, therefore, can act no otherwise 
than it does act ; neither can all the efforts of human 
invention make it act otherwise. That which, in all 
such cases, people call the effect, is no other than the 
principle itself rendered perceptible to the senses. 

Since, then, people cannot make principles, from 
whence did they gain a knowledge of them, so as to 
be able to apply them, not only to things on earth, but 
to ascertain the motion of bodies so immxCnsely dis- 
tant from them as all the heavenly bodies are? From 
whence, I ask, could they gain that knowledge but 
from the study of the true theology of facts, truths, 
and reasons. The Great Moral Way. 

It is the structure of the universe that has taught 
this knowledge to the human race. That structure 
is an ever-existing exhibition of every principle upon 
which every part of mathematical science is found- 
ed. The offspring of this science is mechanics ; for 
mechanics is no other than the principles of science 
applied practically. The human beings who proportion 
the several parts of a mill uses the same scientific prin- 



44 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

ciples as if they had the power of constructing a uni- 
verse ; but as they cannot give to matter that invisible 
agency by which all the component parts of the im- 
mense machine of the universe have influence upon 
each other, and act in motional unison together, with- 
out any apparent contact, and to which the human 
race has given the name of attraction of gravitation, 
and repulsion, they supply the place of that agency 
by the humble imitation of teeth and cogs. All the 
parts of human microcosm must visibly touch; but 
could they gain a knowledge of that agency, so as to 
be able to apply it in practice, we might then say 
another canonical book of the volition of God had been 
discovered. 

If the human race could alter the properties of the 
lever, so also could they alter the properties of the 
triangle; for a lever (taking that sort of lever which 
is called a steelyard, for the sake of explanation) 
forms, when in motion, a triangle. The line it de- 
scends from (one point of that line being in the 
fulcrum), the line it descends to, and the 
chord of the arc which the end of the lever 
describes in the air, are the three sides of 
a triangle. The other arm of the lever describes also 
a triangle; and the corresponding sides of those two 
triangles, calculated scientifically or measured geomet- 
rically; and also the sines, tangents, and secants gen- 
erated from the angles and geometrically measured, 
have the same proportions to each other as the differ- 
ent weights have that will balance each other on the 
lever, leaving the weight of the lever out of the case. 

It may also be said that human beings can make 
a wheel and axis ; that they can put wdieels of different 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 45 

magnitudes together, and produce a mill. Still the 
case comes back to the same point, which is that they 
did not make the principle that gives the wheels those 
powers. That principle is as unalterable as in the 
former cases, or rather it is the same principle under 
a different appearance to the eye. 

The power that two wheels of different magnitudes 
have upon each other is in the same proportion as if 
the semi-diameters of the two wheels were joined to- 
gether and made into that kind of lever I have de- 
scribed, suspended at the part where the semi-diam- 
ters join ; for the two wheels, scientifically considered, 
are no other than the two circles generated by the 
motion of the compound lever. 

It is from the study of the true theology that all 
our knowledge of science is derived, and it is from 
that knowledge that all the arts have originated. 

The Intelligence God lectures by displaying the 
principles of science in the structure of the tmiverse, 
has invited mankind to study and to imitation. It is 
as if God had said to the inhabitants of this globe that 
we call ours : "I have made an earth for you to dwell 
upon, and I have rendered the starry heavens visible, 
to teach you science and the arts. You can now pro- 
vide for your own comfort, and learn from my munifi- 
cence to all, to be grateful and kind to each other." 

Of what use is it, unless it be to teach people some- 
thing, that their eye is endowed with the power of 
beholding to an incomprehensible distance an immens- 
ity of worlds revolving in the ocean of space? Or of 
what use is it that this immensity of worlds is visible 
to them? What have they to do with the Pleiades, 
with Orion, with Sirius, with the star they call the 



46 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

North star, with the moving orbs they named Nep- 
tune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mer- 
cury, if no uses are to follow from their being visible? 
A less power of vision would have been sufficient for 
them, if the immensity they now possess were only 
given to waste itself, as it were, on an immense desert 
space glittering with shows. 

It is only by contemplating what they call the starry 
heavens as the book and school of science that they 
discover any use in their being visible to them, or any 
advantage resulting from their immensity of vision. 
But when they contemplate the subject in this light, 
they see an additional motive for saying that nothing 
was made in vain; for in vain would be this power of 
vision if it taught the people nothing. 

As the Christian system of faith has made a revolu- 
tion in theology, so also has it made a revolution in 
the state of learning. That which is now called learn-, 
ing was not learning originally. Learning does not 
•consist, as the schools now make it to consist, in the 
knowledge of languages, but in the knowledge of 
things to which language give names. 

The Greeks were a learned people ; but learning with 
them did not consist in speaking Greek, any more than 
in a Roman's speaking Latin, or a Frenchman's speak- 
ing French, or an Englishman's speaking English. 
From what we know of the Greeks, it does not ap- 
pear that they knew or studied any language but their 
own, and this was one cause of their becoming so 
learned; it afforded them more time to apply them- 
selves to better studies. The schools of the Greeks 
were schools of science and philosophy, and not of 
languages; and it is in the knowledge of the things 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 47 

that science and philosophy teach, that learning con- 
sists. 

Almost all the scientific learning that now exists 
came to us from the Greeks, or the people who spoke 
the Greek language. It therefore became necessary for 
the people of other nations, who spoke a different lan- 
guage, that some among them should learn the Greek 
language in order that the learning the Greeks had 
might be made known in those nations by translating 
the Greek books of science and philosophy into the 
mother tongue of each nation. 

' The study, therefore, of the Greek language (and in 
the same manner for the Latin) was no other than the 
drudgery business of a linguist ; and the language thus 
obtained was no other than the means, or, as it were, 
the tools employed to obtain the learning the Greeks 
had. It made no part of the learning itself; and was 
so distinct from it as to make it exceedingly probable 
that the persons who had studied Greek sufihciently 
to translate those works — such, for instance, as 
Euclid's Elements — did not understand any of the 
learning the works contained. 

As there is now nothing new to be learned from the 
dead languages — all the useful books being already 
translated — the languages are become useless, and the 
time expended in teaching and in learning them is 
wasted. So far as the study of languages may con- 
tribute to the progress and communication of intelli- 
gence (for it has, nothing to do with the development of 
intelligence). It is only in the living languages that 
the fountain of intelligence is made to flow; and cer- 
tain it is that, in general, a youth will learn more of a 
living language in one year than of a dead language 



48 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

in seven ; and it is but seldom that the teacher knows 
much of it themselves. The difficulty of learning the 
dead languages does not arise from any superior ab- 
struseness in the languages themselves, but in their 
being dead, and the pronunciation entirely lost. It 
would be the same thing with any other language 
when it becomes dead. The best Greek linguist that 
now exists does not understand Greek so well as a 
Grecian plowman did, or a Grecian milkmaid; and the 
same for the Latin compared with a plowman or a 
milkmaid of the Romans; and, with respect to pro- 
nunciation and idiom, not so well as the cows that she 
milked. It would therefore be advantageous to the 
state of learning to abolish the study of the dead lan- 
guages, and to make learning consist, as it originally 
did, in scientific intelligence. 

The apology that is sometimes made for continuing 
to teaich the dead languages is that they are taught 
at a time when a child is not capable of exerting any 
other mental faculty than that of memory; but this is 
altogether erroneous. The human mind has a natural 
disposition to scientific attainments, and to the things 
connected with it. The first and favorite amusement 
of a child, even before it begins to play, is that of 
imitating what it sees done. It builds houses with 
cards or sticks ; it navigates the little ocean of a bowl 
of water with a paper boat, or dams the stream of a 
gutter, and contrives something which it calls a mill; 
and it interests itself in the fate of its works with a 
care that resembles affection. It afterwards goes to 
school, where its genius is killed by the barren study 
of a dead language, and the philosopher is lost in the 
linguist. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 49 

But the apology that is now made for continuing to 
teach the dead languages could not be the cause, at 
first, of cutting down learning to the narrow and hum- 
ble sphere of linguistry; the cause, therefore, must be 
sought for elsewhere. In all researches of this kind 
the best evidence that can be produced is the internal 
evidence the thing carries with itself, and the evidence 
of circumstances that unites with it ; both of which, in 
this case, are not difficult to be discovered. 

Putting then aside, as matter of distinct considera- 
tion, the outrage offered to the moral justice of God, 
by supposing God to make the innocent sufifer for the 
guilty, and also the loose morality and low contrivance 
of supposing God to change Godself into the shape of 
a man, in order to make an excuse to Godself for not 
executing God's supposed sentence upon Adam; put- 
ting, I say, those things aside as matter of distinct con- 
sideration, it is certain that what is called the Chris- 
tian system of faith, including in it the whimsical ac- 
count of the creation, that never had any existence ; 
as none of the Eternal Things ever were created. Any 
thing that is Eternal and Infinite can not have a be- 
ginning or a creation now, or in the endless past. No 
finite Intelligence can conceive where Infinite space 
could begin or could end ; and the same rule applies 
to all the other Eternal Things. The finite human 
Intelligence can not conceive or comprehend anything 
that is Endless, Boundless and Infinite, which are the 
status quo of all the Eternal Things. The strange 
story of Eve, the snake, and the apple; the amphib- 
ious idea of a man-god; the corporeal idea of the 
death of a god ; the mythological idea of a family 
of gods, and the Christian system of arithmetic, that 



50 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

three are one and one is three, are all irreconcilable, 
not only to the divine gift of reason that God has 
given to us, but to the Intelligence we now have, 
gained of the power force and reason that God by the 
aid of the sciences, and by studying the structure of 
the universe has made possible. 

The setters-up, therefore, and the advocates of the 
Christian system of faith could not but foresee that 
the continually progressive discoveries and precepts 
that the human race would gain, by the aid of science, 
of the power and Intelligence God, manifested in the 
structure of the universe, and in all the works therein, 
would militate against, and call into question, the 
truth of their system of faith; and therefore it be- 
came necessary to their purpose to cut learning down 
to a size less dangerous to their project, and this they 
effected by restricting the idea of learning to the dead 
study of dead languages. 

They not only rejected the study of science out of 
the Christian schools, but they persecuted it; and it is 
only within about the last four centuries that the 
study has been revived. So late as 1610, Galileo, a 
Florentine, discovered and introduced the use of tele- 
scopes, and by applying them to observe the motions 
and appearances of the heavenly bodies, afforded ad- 
ditional means for ascertaining the true structure of 
the universe. Instead of being esteemed for these dis- 
coveries, he was sentenced to renounce them, or the 
opinions resulting from them as a damnable heresy. 
And, prior to that time, Virgilius was condemned to 
be burned for asserting the antipodes, or in other 
words, that the earth was a globe and habitable in 
every part where there was land ; yet the truth of this 
is now too well known even to be told. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 51 

If the belief of errors not morally bad did no mis- 
chief, it would make no part of the moral duty of 
people to oppose and remove them. There was no 
moral ill in believing the earth was flat like a trencher, 
any more than there was moral virtue in believing it 
was round like a globe ; neither was there any moral 
ill in believing that Intelligence made no other world 
than this, any more than there was moral virtue in 
believing that Intelligence made millions of worlds, 
and that the infinity of space is filled with worlds. But 
when a system of religion is made to grow out of a 
supposed system of myths that is not true, and to 
unite itself therewith in a manner almost inseparable 
therefrom, the case assumes an entirely different 
ground. It is then that errors, not morally bad, be- 
come fraught with the same mischiefs as if they were. 
It is then that the truth, though otherwise indifferent 
in itself, becomes an essential, by becoming the cri- 
terion that either confirms by corresponding evidence, 
or denies by contradictory evidence, the reality of the 
religion itself. In this view of the case it is the moral 
duty of the human race to obtain every possible evidence 
that the structure of the heavens or any part of Infi- 
nite space affords with respect to systems of religion. 
But this the supporters or partisans of the Christian 
system, as if dreading the result, incessantly opposed, 
and not only rejected the sciences, but persecuted 
the professors. Had Newton or Descartes lived three 
or four hundred years before they did live, and pur- 
sued theii: studies as they did, it is most probable 
they would not have lived to finish them; and had 
Franklin drawn lightning from the clouds at the same 
time, it would have been at the hazard of 'expiring 
for it in flames. 



52 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Latter times have laid all the blame upon the Goths 
and Vandals; but however unwilling, the partisans of 
the Christian system may be to believe or to acknow- 
ledge it, it is nevertheless true that the age of ignor- 
ance commenced with the Christian system. There 
was more Intelligence in the human race before that 
period than for many centuries afterwards; and as to 
religious trend, the Christian system, as already said., 
was only another species of mythology; and the m}^- 
thology to which it succeeded was a corruption of an 
ancient system of theism. 

It is impossible for us now to know at what time 
the heathen mythology began; but it is certain, from 
the internal evidence that it carries, that it did not 
begin in the same state or condition in which it ended. 
All the gods of that mythology, except Saturn, were 
of modern invention. The supposed reign of Saturn 
was prior to that which is called the heathen mythol- 
ogy, and was so far a species of theism that it admitted 
the belief of only one God. Saturn is supposed to 
have abdicated the government in favor of his three 
sons and one daughter — Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune, and 
Juno; after this, thousands of other gods and demi- 
gods were imaginably created, and the calendar of 
gods increased as fast as the calendar of saints and 
the calendars of courts have increased since. 

All the corruptions that have taken place in the- 
ology and in religion have been produced by admitting 
of what people call revealed religion. The mytholo- 
gists pretended to more revealed religion than the 
Christians do. They had their oracles and their 
priests, who were supposed to receive and deliver the 
volition of God, verbally, on almost all occasions. 



FACTS^ TRUTHS AND REASONS. 53 

Since then all corruptions down from Moloch to 
modern predestinarianism, and the human sacrifices 
of the heathens to the Christian sacrifice of Christ, 
have been produced by admitting of what is called 
revealed religion; the most effectual means to prevent 
all such evils and impositions is, not to admit of any 
other revelation than that which is manifested in the 
book of science and to contemplate science as the only 
true and real volition of God that ever did or ever will 
exist; and everything else called the volition of God 
is fable and imposition. 

It is owing to this long interregnum of science, and 
to no other cause, that we have now to look back 
through a vast chasm of many hundred years to the 
respectable characters we call the ancients. Had the 
progression of Intelligence gone on proportionately 
with the stock that before existed, that chasm would 
have been filled up with characters rising superior 
in scientific attainments ; and those ancients we now 
so much admire would have appeared respectably in 
the background of the scene. But the Christian sys- 
tem laid all waste ; and if we take our stand about the 
beginning of the sixteenth century, we look back 
through that long chasm to the times of the ancients 
as over a vast sandy desert, in which not a shrub 
appears to intercept the vision to the fertile hills be- 
yond. 

It is an inconsistency scarcely possible to be credited, 
that anything should exist, under the name of religion, 
that held it to be irreligious to study and contemplate 
the structure of the Eternal Infinite space controlled 
by the Infinite Impulse of Intelligence God. But the 
fact is too well established to be denied. The event 



54 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

that served more than any other to break the first link 
in this long chain of despotic ignorance is that known 
by the name of the Reformation by Luther. From 
that time, though it does not appear to have made any 
part of the intention of Luther, or of those who are 
called reformers, the Sciences began to revive ; and Lib- 
erality, their natural associate began to appear. This 
was the only public good the Reformation did; for, 
with respect to religious good, it might as well not 
have taken place. The mythology still continued the 
same; and a multiplicity of national popes grew out 
of the downfall of the pope of Christendom. 

Having thus shown from the internal evidence of 
things the cause that produced a change in the state 
of learning, and the motive for substituting the study 
of the dead languages in the place of the Sciences, I 
proceed, in addition to the several observations already 
made in the former part of this work, to compare, or 
rather to confront, the evidence that the structure of 
the universe affords with the Christian system of re- 
ligion ; but, as I cannot begin this part better than by 
referring to the ideas that occurred to me at an early 
part of life, and which I doubt not have occurred in 
some degree to almost every other person at one time 
or other, I shall state what those ideas were, and add 
thereto such other matter as shall arise out of the 
subject, giving to the whole, by way of preface, a short 
introduction. 

My father being of the Quaker profession, it was my 
good fortune to have an exceeding good moral educa- 
tion, and a tolerable stock of useful learning. Though 
I went to the grammar school (the same school, Thet- 
ford, in Norfolk, that the present Counsellor Mingay 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 55 

went to, and under the same master), I did not learn 
Latin, not only because I had no inclination to learn 
languages, but because of the objection of the Quak- 
ers have against the books in which the language is 
taught. But this did not prevent me from being ac- 
quainted with the subjects of all the Latin books used 
in the school. 

The natural bent of my mind was to science. I had 
some turn, and I believe some talent, for poetry ; but 
this I rather repressed than encouraged, as leading too 
much into the field of imagination. As soon as I was 
able, I purchased a pair of globes, and attended the 
philosophical lectures of Martin and Ferguson, and 
became afterwards acquainted with Dr. Bevis, of the 
society called the Royal Society, then living in the 
Temple, and an excellent astronomer. 

I had no disposition for what was called politics. It 
presented to my mind no other idea than is contained 
in the word Jockeyship. When, therefore, I turned 
my thoughts towards matters of government, I had 
to form a system for myself that accorded with the 
moral and philosophic principles in which I had been 
educated. I saw, or at least I thought I saw, a vast 
scene opening itself to the world in the affairs of 
America; and it appeared to me that unless the 
Americans changed the plan they were then pursuing 
with respect to the government of England and de- 
clared themselves independent, they would not only 
involve themselves in a multiplicity of new difficulties, 
but shut out the prospect that was then offering itself 
to mankind through their means. It was from these 
motives that I published the work known by the name 
of "Common Sense," which is the first work I ever 



56 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

did publish; and so far as I can judge of myself, I be- 
lieve I should never have been known in the world as 
an author on any subject whatever, had it not been for 
the affairs of America. I wrote "Common Sense" the 
latter end of the year 1775, and published it the first 
of January, 1776. Independence was declared the 
fourth of July following. 

Any person who has made observations on the state 
and progress of the human mind, by observing his 
own, cannot but have observed that there are two 
distinct classes of what are called Thoughts : those that 
we produce m ourselves by reflection and the act of 
thinking, and those that bolt into the mind of their 
own accord. I have always made it a rule to treat 
those voluntary visitors with civility, taking care to 
examine, as well I was able, if they were worth enter- 
taining; and it is from them I have acquired almost 
all the knowledge that I have. As to the learning that 
students gain from school education, it serves only, 
like a small capital, to put them in the way of begin- 
ning learning for themselves afterwards. Every stu- 
dent of learning is finally their own teacher, the rea- 
son of which is that principles, being of a distinct 
quality to circumstances, cannot be impressed upon 
the memory; their place of residence is the under- 
standing, and they are never so lasting as when they 
begin by conception.. Thus much for the introductory 
part. 

From the time I was capable of conceiving an idea, 
and acting upon it by reflection, I either doubted the 
truth of the Christian system, or thought it to be a 
strange affair ; I scarcely know which it was ; but I 
well remember, when about seven or eight years of 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 57 

age, hearing a sermon read by a relation of mine, who 
was a great devotee of the church, upon the subject 
of what is called Redemption by the Death of the 
Son of God. After the sermon was ended I went into 
the garden, and as I was going down the garden steps 
(for I perfectly recollect the spot) I revolted at the 
recollection of what I had heard, and thought to my- 
self that it was making God act like a passionate man 
that killed his son when he could not revenge himself 
any other way; and as I was sure a man would be 
hanged that did such a thing, I could not see for what 
purpose they preached such sermons. This was not 
one of the kind of thoughts that had anything in it 
of childish levity; it was to me a serious reflection, 
arising from the idea I had that God was too good 
to do such an action, and also too Great to be under 
any necessity of doing it. I believe in the same man- 
ner to this moment; and I moreover believe that any 
system of religion that has anything in it that shocks 
the mind of a child cannot be a true system. 

It seems as if parents of the Christian profession 
were ashamed to tell their children anything about 
the principles of their religion. They sometimes in- 
struct them in morals, and talk to them of the good- 
ness of what they call Providence; for the' Hebrew 
and Christian mythology has many Gods, such as 
Supreme Being, Deity, Jehovah, Holy Ghost, Al- 
mighty, God, Holy Father, Lord, Messiah, Christ, and 
one Goddess Mother Mary, and special Gods, such 
as the God of Providence, God of Nature, Creator, 
Saviour, Redeemer. Now, are there these many Gods 
or endearing name for Jehovah, who was a myth. There 
is but one God, and that God is Infinite Intelligence. 



58 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

But the Christian story of a man-God putting his son 
to death, or employing people to do it (for that is 
the plain language of the story), cannot be told by a 
parent to children; and to tell them that it was done 
to make mankind happier and better is making the 
story still worse; as if mankind could be improved 
by the example of murder; and to tell them that all 
this is a mystery is only making an excuse for the 
incredibility of it. 

How different is this to the pure and simple pro- 
fession of a religion in contemplating the power force 
and benignity of (The Great Moral Way) of endeavor- 
ing to imitate God in everything moral, scientifical, and 
mechanical. 

The religion that approaches the nearest of all others 
in the moral and benign part thereof, is that professed 
by the Quakers ; but they have contracted themselves 
too much by leaving the works of God out of their 
system. Though I reverence their philanthropy, I can- 
not help smiling at the conceit that if the taste of a 
Quaker could have been consulted in formulating all 
that exists, what a silent and drab-colored layout it 
would have been ! Not a flower would have blossomed 
its gaieties, nor a bird been permitted to sing. 

Quitting these reflections, I proceed to other matters. 
After I had made myself master of the use of the 
globes, and of the orrery. As this book may fall into 
the hands of persons who do not know what an orrery 
is, It is for their information I add this note, as the 
name gives no idea of the uses of the thing. The 
orrery has its name from the person who invented it. 
It is a machinery of clockwork representing the uni- 
verse in miniature, and in which the revolution of the 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 59 

earth round itself and round the sun, the revolution of 
the moon round the earth, the revolution of the planets 
round the sun, their relative distances from the 
sun as the center of the whole system, their 
relative distances from each other, and their dififerent 
magnitudes, are represented as they really exist in 
what we call the heavens. I cpnceived an idea of the 
infinity of space, and of the eternal divisibility of mat- 
ter, and obtained at least a general knowledge of what 
is called natural philosophy, I began to compare, or, 
as I have before said, to confront, the internal evidence 
those things afiford with the Christian system of faith. 

Though it is not a direct claim of the Christian sys- 
tem that this world that we inhabit is all the world 
or planet that is inhabited, the whole of the inhabited 
portion of the Universe, yet it is so worked up there- 
with, from what is called the Mosaic account of the 
story of Eve and the apple, and the counterpart of that 
story — the death of the Son of God — that to believe 
otherwise, that is, to believe that a plurality of worlds, 
at least as numerous as what we call stars, renders the 
Christian system of faith at once little and ridiculous, 
and scatters it in the mind like feathers in the air. The 
two beliefs cannot be held together in the same mind; 
and they who think that they believe bot*h has thought 
but little on that subject. 

Though the belief of a plurality of worlds was fa- 
miliar to the ancients, it is only within the last five 
centuries that the extent and dimensions of this globe 
that we inhabit have been ascertained. Many vessels, 
following the tract of the ocean, have sailed entirely 
round the world, as a man may march in a circle and 
come round by the contrary side of the circle to the 



60 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

spot he set out from. The circular dimensions of our 
world in the widest part, as a man would measure the 
widest round of an apple or a ball, is only twenty-five 
thousand and twenty English miles, reckoning sixty- 
nine miles and a half to an equatorial degree. 

A world of this extent may, at first thought, appear 
to us to be great ; but if we compare it with the im- 
mensity of space in which it is suspended, like a bubble 
or balloon in the air, it is infinitely less in proportion 
than the smallest grain of sand is to the size of the 
world, or the finest particle of dew to the whole ocean, 
and is therefore but small ; and, as will be hereafter 
shown, is only one of a system of worlds that occupies 
the eternal ethereal infinite space. 

It is not difficult to gain some idea of the immensity 
of space in which this and all other worlds are sus- 
pended if we follow a progression of ideas. When we 
think of the size or dimensions of a room, our ideas 
limit themselves to the walls, and there they stop ; but 
when our eye, or our imagination, darts into space — 
that is, when we look upwards into what we call blue 
sky — we cannot conceive any walls or boundaries it 
can have ; and if, for the sake of resting our ideas, we 
suppose a boundary, the question immediately renews 
itself, and asks, What is beyond that boundary? and 
in the same manner. What is beyond the next boun- 
dary? and so on until the fatigued imagination returns 
and says, there is no end. Certainly, then, there was 
not pent for room when the world was made no 
larger than it Is; and we have to seek the reason In 
something else. 

If we take a survey of our own world, as our portion 
in the immense system of worlds or planets in infinite 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 61 

space, we find every part of it — the earth, the waters, 
and the air that surrounds it — filled and, as it were, 
crowded with life, down from the largest animals that 
we know of, to the smallest insects the naked eye can 
behold, and from thence to others still smaller, and 
totally invisible without the assistance of a micro- 
scope. Every tree, every plant, every leaf, serves not 
only as a habitation, but as a whole world to some 
numerous race, till animal existence becomes so ex- 
ceedingly refined that the effluvia of a blade of grass 
would be food for thousands. 

Since then, no part of our earth is left unoccupied, 
why is it to be supposed that the immensity of space 
is a naked void, lying in eternal waste? There is room 
for millions of worlds as large or larger than ours, and 
each of them millions of miles apart from each other. 

Having now arrived at this point, if we carry our 
ideas only one thought further, we shall see, perhaps, 
the true reason — at least a very good reason for our 
happiness — why Intelligence, instead of formulating 
one immense world, extended over an immense quan- 
tity of space, has preferred dividing that quantity of 
matter into several distinct and separate worlds, Avhich 
we call planets, of which our earth is one. But before 
I explain my ideas upon this subject, it is necessary 
(not for the sake of those that already know, but for 
those who do not) to show what the solar system or 
universe is. 

The universe Is a part of Infinite Space, who's diam- 
eter exceeds 5,600,000,000 miles and is occupied by 
eight large planets, four hundred and fifty or more 
small planets (called asteroids), and twenty or more 
moons, called satellites. The orbits of the eight large 



52 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

planets being more or less in the form of an ellipse, 
their mean distance from the sun will be as follows : 
Mercury 36,000,000 miles. Venues 66,900,000 miles. 
Earth 93,000,000 miles, Mars 141,000,000 miles, Jupiter 
483,000,000 miles, vSaturn 886,000,000 miles, Uranus 
1,800,000,000 miles, Neptune 2,800,000,000 miles. The 
four hundred and fifty or more asteroids have their 
orbits in the 342,000,000 miles between Mars and Jupi- 
ter, except Eros who has its orbit between the Earth 
and Mars. These small planets whose diameters are 
from twenty-five miles to five hundred miles, and their 
circumference or equatorial measure being from sev- 
enty-five miles to fifteen hundred miles (no use now, 
but when the universe is reduced by incandescent 
caloric and converted into aeriform fluid, and all the 
planets made over again as they have been many times 
before, then these little worlds can be used as planet 
building material. 

All the planets speed their orbits on fixed times sim- 
ilar to our Earth, which goes 66,000 miles an hour; 
and it is the revolution of the Earth on its axis, and 
its revolving in its orbits around the sun, that cause 
the days, nights and seasons. (See Astronomy.) The 
moons revolve around the planets to which they be- 
long, and with these planets around the sun having 
what is called double orbits. The sun is 1,300,000 
times the size of the Earth and its volume is more than 
750 times that of all the planets in our universe put 
together, and its weight is 1,980,000,000,000,000,000,- 
000,000,000 tons. The mountains on the sun, if pro- 
portionally the same as the mountains on the Earth, 
they would be over, six hundred miles high. The sun 
sometimes when being viewed through the telescope. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 63 

can be seen great yawning volcano craters 200,000 
miles across where a hundred worlds like the earth 
could be tumbled in with ease. If a solid cake of ice a 
thousand miles thick, five thousand miles wide, and 
fifty thousand miles long were chucked into the great 
sun crater it would be converted into steam and blowed 
away in one second of time. In fact if the four hun- 
dred and eighty or more worlds were tumbled in they 
would disappear as quick as a toad could swallow a 
fly. 

Our wonderful planetary system, all moving in har- 
mony in their orbits on fixed times, as is seen by our 
own Earth ; and so nicely controled and governed by 
the volition and impulse of Infinite Intelligence God, 
that they never come in contact, or conflict with, or 
interfere with, such Infinite functions. Now consider 
our universe with its whole retinue of four hundred 
and eighty or more worlds are moving 150,000,000 
miles every year in its orbit around the great uni- 
versalum. When we comprehend, when we consider 
the immensity of Infinite Space in the universe, then 
take all that Space as a unit, then grasp the idea of a 
thousand universes in the great speed of their orbits 
around the great universalum until a thousand uni- 
verses fleet a past like snowflakes in a gale, and still 
the volition, the impulsive power and force of the 
Infinite Intelligence God rules, and controls with per- 
fect harmony. Then consider that we now as aided by 
our improved telescopes and photography are able 
to compute the distance to many of the fixed stars. I 
here give the distance to the three nearest to our sun : 
Centauri. 26,000,000,000,000 miles, Sirlus 51,000,000,- 
000,000 miles, Procyon 71,000,000,000,000 miles with a 



64 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

great many more fixed stars in sight, with their dis- 
tance known, and many more whose distance are so 
immense as to be incomputable at this date. Then 
consider these that are in sight, and millions more 
fixed stars that will never be seen are all great lumi- 
nous suns, and all centers of great universes and uni- 
versalums, and stills the Infinite Intelligence God is 
there to rule, control and govern all Infinitude. Then 
again suppose I should be endowed with Eternal Life 
and could pass through Infinite Space a billion miles 
a second for a thousand billion years, there would still 
be as much space a head of me as there was behind 
me, and still the Infinite Intelligence God would be 
there. And then where would be that little diminutive 
barefooted man-God, that showed his hind end and 
face to Moses. And where would be that Hebrew 
and Christian heaven and hell. With the latter place 
full of monks, priests and preachers that had filched 
their living from the ignorance of the human race. 

If the human race would take up study and analyze 
the Eternal Things, which are the Infinite and truth- 
ful status of human existence on this Earth; and for- 
ever cast aside all the invented religions now in ex- 
istence, as they have always been a stumbling block 
to Science, and a most detestable curse to the human 
race, and accept and follow The Great Moral Way, 
punishing crimes by human laws, the same being all 
the laws at this date the people fear or respect. All 
church buildings should be used as lecture halls of 
Science to teach the people. (More especially the 
young people.) Finite Intelligence, and the great Moral 
Code of justice, and the rights of all Mankind which 
can only be accomplished by first getting rid of 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 65 

Churchdom, Monkdom, Priestdom and Preacherdom, 
and a great Heaven and a great Hell in the myth of a 
future life, which no one will attempt to prove only 
by lies in the Hebrew and Christian Bible. 

If it should be asked, How can people know these 
things? I have one plain answer to give, which is, that 
people know how to calculate an eclipse and also to 
calculate to a minute of time when the planet Venus, 
in making revolutions round the Sun, will come in a 
straight line between our earth and the Sun, and will 
appear to us about the size of a large pea passing 
across the face of the Sun. This happens but twice in 
about a hundred years, at the distance of about eight 
years from each other, and has happened twice in our 
time, both of which were foreknown by calculation. 
It can also be known when they will happen again for 
a thousand years to come, or to any portion of time. 
As, therefore, people could not be able to do those 
things if they did not understand the solar system, 
and the manner in which the revolutions of the sev- 
eral planets or worlds are performed, the fact of cal- 
culating an eclipse, or a transit of Venus, is a proof in 
point that the knowledge exists ; and as to a few thou- 
sand, or even a few million miles, more or less, it makes 
scarcely any sensible difference in such immense dis- 
tances. 

Having thus endeavored to convey, in a familiar and 
easy manner, some idea of the structure of the uni- 
verse, I return to explain what I before alluded to — 
namely, the great benefits arising to the human race 
in consequence of the plurality of worlds, such as our 
system is, consisting of a central Sun and eight worlds, 
besides over four hundred and seventy-two moons and 



66 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

satellites, in preference to that of there being one 
world only of a vast extent. 

It is an idea I have never lost sight of, that all our 
attainments in science is derived from the revolutions 
(exhibited to our eye and from thence to our under- 
standing) which those several planets, or worlds, of 
which our system is composed, make in their circuit 
round the Sun. 

Had then the quantity of matter which these many 
worlds contain been blended into one solitary globe, 
the consequence to us would have been that either 
no revolutionary motion would have existed, or not a 
sufficiency of it to give us the ideas and the scientific 
attainments we now have ; and it is from the sciences 
that all the mechanical arts that contribute so much 
to our earthly felicity and comfort are derived. 

As, therefore, shows no formation in vain, so also 
must it be believed that the structure of the uni- 
verse is of the most advantageous manner for the 
benefit of the human race ; and as we see, and from 
experience fe.el, the benefits we derive from the struc- 
ture of the universe, formed as it is, which benefits 
we should not have had the opportunity of enjoying 
if the structure, so far as relates to our system, had 
been a solitary globe, we can discover at least one 
reason why a plurality of worlds has been made, and 
that reason calls forth the devotional gratitude of 
mankind, as well as their admiration. 

But it is not to us, the inhabitants of this globe, only 
that the benefits arising from a plurality of worlds are 
limited. The inhabitants of each of the worlds of 
which our system is composed enjoy the same oppor- 
tunities and benefits as we do. They behold the revo- 



PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 67 

lutionary motions of our earth, as we behold theirs. 
All the planets revolve in sight of each other; and, 
therefore, the same universal school of science pre- 
sents itself to all. 

Neither does the Intelligent construction stop here. 
The system of worlds next to us exhibits, in their 
revolutions, the same principles and school of science 
to the inhabitants of their system as our system does 
to us, and in like manner throughout the immensity 
of space. 

Our ideas are not only enlarged but our beneficence 
becomes enlarged in proportion as we contemplate 
the extent and the structure of the universe. The 
solitary idea of a solitary world, rolling or at rest in 
the immense ocean of space gives place to the cheer- 
ful idea of a society of worlds, so happily contrived as 
to administer, even by their motion, instruction to 
mankind. We see our own earth filled with abun- 
dance ; but we forget to consider how much of that 
abundance is owing to the scientific Intelligence and 
the vast machinery of the universe has unfolded. 

But, in the midst of those reflections, what are we 
to think of the Christian system of faith that forms 
itself upon the idea of only one world, and .that of no 
greater extent, as is before shown, than twenty-five 
thousand miles? An extent which a man, walking at 
the rate of three miles an hour, for twelve hours in 
the day, could he keep on in a circular direction, would 
walk entirely round in less than two years. Alas ! 
what is this to the mighty ocean of space, and the 
almighty power force and the impulse of Intelligence 
God that controls all? 

From whence, then could arise the solitary and 



68 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Strange conceit that the Infinite God that rules over 
and governs all eternity, who has millions of worlds 
equally dependent for control and protection, should 
quit the care of all the rest and come to die in our 
world, because, they say, one man and one woman 
had eaten an apple? And, on the other hand, are 
we to suppose that every world in the boundless 
Infinite Space had an Eve, an apple, a serpent, and a 
redeemer? In this case, the person who is irreverently 
called the Son of God, and sometimes God, would 
have nothing else to do than to travel from world to 
world, in an endless succession of death, with scarcely 
a momentary interval of life. 

It has been by rejecting the evidence that the voli- 
tion or works of God afford to our senses, and the 
action of our reason upon that evidence, that so many 
wild and whimsical systems of faith and of religion 
have been fabricated and set up. There may be many 
systems of religion that, so far from being morally 
bad, are in many respects morally good ; but there can 
be but ONE that is true; and that one necessarily 
must, as it ever will, be in all things consistent with 
the ever existing Infinite Intelligence that governs all 
Infinite Space that we behold. But such is the strange 
construction of the Christian system of faith, that 
every evidence the heavens afford mankind either di- 
rectly contradicts it or renders it absurd. 

It is possible to believe, and I always feel pleasure 
in encouraging myself to believe it, that there have 
been people on the Earth who persuaded themselves 
that what is called a pious fraud might, at least under 
particular circumstances, be productive of some good. 
But the fraud, being once established, could not after- 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 59 

wards be explained ; for it is with a pious fraud as with 
a bad action : it begets a calamitous necessity of going 
on. 

The persons who first preached the Christian system 
of faith, and in some measure combined with it the 
morality preached by Jesus Christ, might persuade 
themselves that it was better than the heathen myth- 
ology that then prevailed. From the first preachers 
the fraud went on to the second, and to the third, till 
the idea of its being a pious fraud became lost in the 
belief of its being true; and that belief became again 
encouraged by the interests of those who made a live- 
lihood by preaching it. 

But though such a belief might, by such means, be 
rendered almost general among the laity, it is next to 
impossible to account for the continual persecution 
carried on by the church for several hundred years 
against the sciences, and against the professors of 
science, if the church had not some record or some 
tradition that it was originally no other than a pious 
fraud, or did not foresee that it could not be main- 
tained against the evidence that the structure of the 
universe afiforded. 

Having thus shown the irreconcilable inconsistencies 
between the real superlative evidence existing in the 
universe and that which is called Bible evidence, as 
shown to us in a printed book that any priest might 
make, I proceed to speak of the three principal means 
that have been employed in all ages, and perhaps in all 
countries, to impose upon mankind. 

Those three means are Mystery, Miracle, and Proph- 
ecy. The first two are incompatible with true religion, 
and the third ought always to be suspected. 



70 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

With respect to mystery, everything we behold is, 
in one sense, a mystery to us.- Our own existence is a 
mystery; the whole vegetable world is a mystery. We 
cannot account how it is that an acorn, when put into 
the ground, is made to develop itself, and become an 
oak. We know not how it is that the seed we sow 
unfolds and multiplies itself, and returns to us such 
an abundant interest for so small a capital. 

The fact, however, as distinct from the operating 
cause, is not a mystery, because we see it; and we 
know also the means we are to use, which is no other 
than putting the seed in the ground. We know, there- 
fore, as much as is necessary for us to know ; and that 
part of the operation that we do not know, and which, 
if we did, we could not perform, the Infinite Intelli- 
gence that controls and governs all Infinite Space and 
all matter and motion therein take up and performs 
that part for us. We are, therefore, better off than 
if we had been let into the secret, and left to do it for 
ourselves. 

But though every Eternal and Infinite thing is, in 
this sense, a mystery, the word mystery cannot be ap- 
plied to moral truth, any more than obscurity can be 
applied to light. The Infinite Intelligence in whom 
we believe is the God of moral truth, and not a God 
of mystery or obscurity. Mystery is the antagonist of 
truth. It is a fog of human invention that obscures 
truth and represents it in distortion. Truth never en- 
velops itself in mystery; and the mystery in which 
it is enveloped is the work of Its antagonist, and never 
of itself. 

Religion, therefore, being the belief that Infinite 
Intelligence is God, and the practice of moral truth, 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 71 

cannot have connection with mystery. The belief of 
a God, so far from having anything of a mystery in it, 
is of all beliefs the most easy, because it arises to us, 
as is before observed, out of necessity. And the 
practice of moral truth, or, in other words, a prac- 
tical imitation of the moral goodness of God, is no 
other than our acting towards each other as God acts 
benignly towards all. We cannot serve God in the 
manner we serve those who cannot do without such 
service ; and, therefore, the only idea we can have of 
serving God is that of increasing Finite Intelligence 
contributing to the happiness of all mankind. This 
cannot be done by retiring ourselves from the society 
of the world, and spending a recluse life in selfish 
devotion. 

The very nature and design of religion, if I may so 
express it, prove even to demonstration that it must 
be free from everything of mystery, and unencumbered 
with everything that is mysterious. Religion, con- 
sidered as a duty, is incumbent upon every living per- 
son alike, and, therefore, must be on a level to the 
understanding and comprehension of all. Mankind 
does not learn religion as they learn the secrets and 
mysteries of a trade. They learn the theory of relig- 
ion by reflection. It arises out of the action of their 
own mind upon the things which they see, or upon 
what they may happen to hear or to read, and the 
practice joins itself thereto. 

When people, whether from policy or pious fraud, 
set up systems of religion incompatible with Intelli- 
gence, and not only above but repugnant to human 
comprehension, or that they were under the neces- 
sity of inventing or adopting a plan that should serve 



72 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

as a bar to all questions, inquiries, and speculations. 
The word mystery answered this purpose; and thus 
it has happened that religion, which is in itself without 
mystery, has been corrupted into a fog of mysteries. 

As mystery answered all general purposes, miracle 
followed as an occasional auxiliary. The former 
served to bewilder the mind; the latter, to puzzle 
the senses. The one was the lingo, the other the 
legerdemain. 

But before going further into this subject, it will be 
proper to inquire what is to be understood by a 
miracle. 

In the same sense that everything may be said to 
be a mystery, so also may it be said that everything 
is a miracle, and that no one thing is a greater miracle 
than another. The elephant, though larger, is not a 
greater miracle than a mite; nor a mountain a greater 
miracle than an atom. By Infinite Intelligence it is 
no more difficult to make the one than the other; and 
no more difficult to make a million of worlds than to 
make one. Everything, therefore, is a miracle, in one 
sense, whilst, in the other sense, there is no such thing 
as a miracle. It is a miracle when compared to our 
power and to our comprehension; it is not a miracle 
compared to the Infinite Impulse of Intelligence that 
performs it; but as nothing in this description con- 
veys the idea that is affixed to the word miracle, it is 
necessary to carry the inquiry further. 

Mankind have conceived to themselves certain laws, 
by which what they call nature is supposed to act; and 
that a miracle is something contrary to the operation 
and efifect of those laws ; but unless we know the whole 
extent of those laws, and of what are commonly called 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 73 

the powers of nature, we are not able to judge whether 
anything that may appear to us wonderful, or miracu- 
lous> be within, or be beyond, or be contrary to the 
natural power of acting. 

The ascension of a man several miles high into the 
air would have everything in it that constitutes the 
idea of a miracle, if it were not known that a species of 
gas can be generated several times lighter than the 
common atmospheric air, and yet possess elasticity 
enough to prevent the balloon, in which that light gas 
is inclosed, from being compressed into as many times 
less bulk by the common air that surrounds it. In like 
manner, extracting flashes or sparks from the human 
body, as visible as from a steel struck with a flint, and 
causing iron or steel to move without any visible agent, 
would also give the idea of a miracle, if we were not 
acquainted with the two eternal things, electricity and 
magnetism ; so also would many other experiments in 
natural philosophy, to those who are not acquainted 
with the subject. The restoring persons to life, who 
are to appearance dead, as is practiced upon drowned 
persons, would also be a miracle, if it were not known 
that animation is capable of being suspended without 
being extinct. 

Besides these, there are performances by sleight of 
hand, and by persons acting in concert, that have a 
miraculous appearance, which, when known, are 
thought nothing of. And, besides these, there are me- 
chanical and optical deceptions. There is now an ex- 
hibition in Paris of ghosts and spectres, which, though 
it is not imposed upon the spectators as a fact, has an 
astonishing appearance. As, therefore, we know not 
the extent to which either nature or art can go, there 



74 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

is no -positive criterion to determine what a miracle 
is; and mankind, in giving credit to appearances, under 
the idea of their being miracles, are subject to be con- 
tinually imposed upon. 

Since, then, appearances are so capable of deceiving, 
and things not real have a strong resemblanae to 
things that are, nothing can be more inconsistent than 
to suppose that the Infinite Intelligence God v^ould 
make use of means, such as are called miracles, that 
would subject the person who performed them to the 
suspicion of being an impostor, and the persons who 
related them to be suspected of lying, and the doctrine 
intended to be supported thereby to be suspected as a 
fabulous invention. 

Of all the modes of evidence that ever were intended 
to obtain belief to any system or opinion to which the 
name of religion has been given, that of miracle, how- 
ever successful the imposition may have been, is the 
most inconsistent. For, in the first place, whenever 
recourse is had to show, for the purpose of procuring 
that belief (for a miracle, under any idea of the word, 
is a show), it implies "a lameness or weakness in the 
doctrine that is preached. And, in the second place, 
it is degrading the Infinite Intelligence God into the 
character of a showman, playing tricks to amuse and 
make the people stare and wonder. It is also the most 
equivocal sort of evidence that can be set up; for the 
belief is not to depend upon the thing called a miracle, 
but upon the credit of the reporter who says that he 
saw it; and, therefore, the thing, were it true, would 
have no better chance of being believed than if it were 
a lie. 
' Suppose I were. to say that when I sat down to write 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 75 

this book, a hand presented itself in the air, took up 
the pen, and wrote every word that is herein written ; 
would anybody believe me? Certainly they would 
not. Would they believe me a whit more if the thing 
had befen a fact? Certainly they would not. Since, 
then, a real miracle, were it to happen, would be sub- 
ject to the same fate as the falsehood, the inconsist- 
ency becomes the greater of supposing the Infinite In- 
telligence God would make use of means "that would 
not answer the purpose for which they were intended, 
even if they were real. 

If we are to suppose a miracle to be something so 
entirely out of the course of what is called natural, that 
Nature must go out of that course to accomplish it ; 
and if we see an account given of such a miracle by 
the person who said he saw it, it raises a question in 
the mind very easily decided, which is. Is it more prob- 
able that nature should go out of nature's course or 
that a man should tell a lie? We have never seen, in 
our time, nature go wrong; but we have good reason 
to believe that millions of lies have been told in the 
same time ; it is, therefore, at least millions to one that 
the reporter of a miracle tells a lie. 

The story of the whale swallowing Jonah, though a 
whale is large enough to do it, borders greatly on the 
marvelous ; but it would have approached nearer to 
the idea of miracle if Jonah had swallowed the whale. 
In this, which may serve for all cases of miracles, the 
question would decide itself as before stated — namely, 
Is it more probable that a man should have swallowed 
a whale or told a- lie? 

But suppose that Jonah had really swallowed the 
whale, and gone with it in his belly to Nineveh, and to 



76 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

convince the people that it was true, have cast it up in 
their si^ht, of the full leng^th and size of a whale, 
would they not have believed him to have been the 
devil instead of a prophet? Or, if the whale had car- 
ried Jonah to Nineveh and cast him up in the same 
public manner, would they not have believed the whale 
to have been the devil, and Jonah one of his imps? 

The most extraordinary of all the things called mira- 
cles, related in the New Testament, is that of the 
devil flying away with Jesus Christ, and carrying him 
to the top of a high mountain ; and to the top of the 
highest pinnacle of the temple, and showing him and 
promising to him all the kingdoms of the world. How 
happened it that he did not discover America ; or is 
it only with kingdoms that his sooty highness has any 
interest? 

I have too much respect for the moral character of 
Christ to believe that he told this whale of a miracle 
himself; neither is it easy to account for what purpose 
it could have been fabricated, unless it were to impose 
upon the connoisseurs of miracles, as is sometimes 
practiced upon the connoisseurs of Queen Anne's far- 
things and collectors of relics and antiquities; or to 
render the belief of miracles ridiculous by outdoing 
miracle, as Don Quixote outdid chivalry; or to em- 
barass the belief of miracles by making it doubtful 
by what power, whether of God or of the devil, any- 
thing called a miracle was performed. It requires, 
however, a great deal of faith in the devil to believe 
this miracle. 

In every point of view in which those things called 
miracles can be placed and considered, the reality of 
them is improbable, and their existence unnecessary. 



PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 77 

They would not, as before observed, answer any use- 
ful purpose, even if they were true; for it is more dififi- 
cult to obtain belief to a miracle than to a principle 
evidently moral without any miracle. Moral prin- 
ciple speaks universally for itself. Miracle could be 
but a thing of the moment and seen but by a few; after 
this it requires a transfer of faith from God to man to 
believe .a miracle upon man's report. Instead, there- 
fore, of admitting the recitals of miracles as evidence 
of any system of religion being true, they ought to be 
considered as symptoms of its being fabulous. It is 
necessary to the full and upright character of truth 
that it rejects all miracles; and it is consistent with the 
character of fable to seek the aid that truth rejects. 
Thus much for mystery and miracle. 

As mystery and miracle took charge of the past and 
the present, prophecy took charge of the future, and 
rounded the tenses of faith. It was not sufificient to 
know what had been done, but what would be done. 
The supposed prophet was the supposed historian of 
times to come ; and if he happened, in shooting with a 
long bow of a thousand years, to strike within a thou- 
sand miles of a mark, the ingenuity of posterity could 
make it point-blank; and if the prophet happened to 
be directly wrong, it was only to suppose, as in the 
case of Jonah and Nineveh, that God had repented 
and changed God's mind. What a fool do fabulous 
systems of religion make of the God worshipers. 

It -has been shown, in a former part of this work, that 
the original meaning of the words prophet and proph- 
esying has been changed, and that a prophet, in the 
sense the word is now used, is a creature of modern 
invention ; and it is owing to this change in the mean- 



78 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

ing of the words that the flights and metaphors of the 
Jewish poets, and phrases and expressions now render- 
ed obscure by our not being acquainted with the 
local circumstances to which they applied at the time 
they were used, have been erected into prophecies and 
made to blend to explanations at the will and whim- 
sical conceits of sectaries, expounders, and comment- 
ators. Everything unintelligible was prophetical, and 
everything insignificant was typical. A blunder would 
have served for a prophecy; and a dish-clout for a 
type. 

If by a prophet we are to suppose a people to whom 
God communicated some event that would take place 
in future, either there were such people or there were 
not. If there were, it is consistent to believe that the 
event so communicated would be told in terms that, 
could be understood, and not related in such a loose 
and obscure manner as to be out of the comprehen- 
sion of those that heard it, and so equivocal as to fit 
almost any circumstance that might happen after- 
wards. It is conceiving very irreverently of God to 
suppose God would deal in this jesting manner with 
mankind; yet all the things called prophecies in the 
book called the Bible come under this description. 

But it is with prophecy as it is with miracle. It 
could not answer the purpose even if it were real. 
Those to whom a prophecy should be told could not 
tell whether the person prophesied or lied, or whether 
it had been revealed to that person, or whether that 
person conceived it ; and if the thing that person proph- 
esied, or pretended to prophesy, should happen, or 
something like it, among the multitude of things that 
are daily happening, nobody could again know whether 



FACTS, TRUTHS AKD REASONS. 79 

that person foreknew it, or guessed at it, or whether 
it was accidental. A prophet, therefore, is a character 
useless and unnecessary; and the safe side of the case 
is to guard against being imposed upon by not giving 
credence to such relations. 

Upon the whole, mystery, miracle, and prophecy are 
appendages that belong to fabulous and not to true 
religion. They are the means by which so many 
Lo heres! and Lo theres! have been spread about the 
world; and religion been made into a trade. The suc- 
cess of one impostor gave encouragement to another, 
and the quieting salvo of doing some good by keeping 
up a piovjs fraud protected them from remorse. 

Having now extended the subject to a greater length 
than I first intended, I shall bring it to a close by 
abstracting a summary from the whole. 

First — That the idea or belief of a volition of God 
existing in print, or in writing, or in speech, is incon- 
sistent in itself for the reasons already assigned. These 
reasons, among man}^ others, are the want of a uni- 
versal language ; the mutability of language ; the er- 
rors to which translations are subject; the possibility 
of totally suppressing such a word; the probability of 
altering it, or of fabricating the whole, and imposing 
it upon the human race. 

Secondly — That the things we behold is the real 
and ever-existing tternity, in which we cannot be 
deceived. It proclaimed God's power; it demonstrates 
Infinite Intelligence; it manifests superlative benefi- 
cence. 

Thirdly — That the moral duty of mankind consists 
in imitating the moral influence and beneficence of 
God manifested towards all 'God's creatures. That 



80 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

seeing as we daily do the goodness of God to all man- 
kind, it is an example calling upon all people to prac- 
tice the same towards each other; and, consequently, 
that everything of persecution and revenge between 
person and person, and everything of cruelty to ani- 
mals, is a violation of moral duty. 

I trouble not myself about the manner of future 
existence. As the human Soul, or an immortal exist- 
ence after death is wholly imaginary ; an invention of 
Priestcraft; not warranted by Science, or scientific 
investigation of the Earth, and all things thereon, or 
by the investigation of the Infinite Ethereal Space 
and all things therein, and denied in the Scripture 
by both Job and Solomon. 

It is certain that in one point all nations of the 
earth and all religions agree. All nations believe in a 
God. But all nations do not believe in a Man-God. 
But all people can believe that Infinite Intelligence is 
God, as that is the source from which all blessings 
flow. The things in which they disagree are the re- 
dundancies annexed to belief; and, therefore, if ever 
a universal religion should prevail, it will not be be- 
lieving anything new, but in getting rid of redundan- 
cies and believing as the human race believed at first; 
but in the meantime, let every person follow, as they 
have a right to do, the religion they prefer. All the 
human race should accept true religion (The Great 
Moral Way) of right and justice, and never worry 
about the future. 



Thus far I had written on the 28th of December, 
1793. In the evening I went to the Hotel Philadel- 
phia (formerly White's Hotel), Passage des Petits 
Peres, where I lodged when I came to Paris, in conse- 



FACTS. TRUTPTS AND REASONS. gl 

quence of being elected a member of the Convention, 
but had left the lodging about nine months, and taken 
lodgings in the Rue Fauxbourg St. Denis, for the sake 
of being more retired than I could be in the middle 
of the town. 

Meeting with a company of Americans at the Hotel 
Philadelphia, I agreed to spend the evening with them ; 
and, as my lodging was distant about a mile and a 
half, I bespoke a bed at the hotel. The company 
broke up about twelve o'clock, and I went directly to 
bed. About four in the morning I was awakened by a 
rapping at my chamber door; when I opened it, I saw 
two guards, and the master of the hotel with them. 
The guards told me they came to put me under arresta- 
tion, and to demand the key of my papers. I desired 
them to walk in, and I would dress myself and go with 
them immediately. 

It happened that Achilles Audibert, of Calais, was 
then in the hotel ; and I desired to be conducted into 
his room. When we came there, I told the guards that 
I had only lodged at the hotel for that night; that I 
was printing a work, and that part of that work was at 
the Maison Bretagne, Rue Jacob ; and desired they 
would take me there first which they did. 

The printing-office at which the work was printing 
was near to the Maison Bretagne, where Colonel 
Blackden and Joel Barlow, of the United States of 
America, lodged ; and I had desired Joel Barlow to 
compare the proof-sheets with the copy as they came 
from the press. The remainder of the manuscript, 
from page 32 to 7(i, was at my lodging. But besides 
the necessity of my collecting all the parts of the 
work together that the publication might not be inter- 
rupted by my imprisonment, or by any event that 



g2 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

might happen to me, it was highly proper that I should 
have a fellow-citizen of America with me during the 
examination of my papers, as I had letters of cor- 
respondence in my possession of the President of Con- 
gress General Washington ; the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs to Congress Mr. Jefferson ; and the late Ben- 
jamin Franklin ; and it might be necessary for me to 
make a proces-verbal to send to Congress. 

It happened that Joel Barlow had received only one 
proof-sheet of the work, which he had compared with 
the copy and sent it back to the printing-office. 

We then went, in company with Joel Barlow, to my 
lodging; and the guards, or commissaires, took with 
'them the interpreter to the Committee of Surety-Gen- 
eral. It was satisfactory to me, that they went through 
the examination of my papers with the strictness they 
did; and it is but justice that I say, they did it not 
only with civility, but with tokens of respect to my 
character. 

I showed them the remainder of the manuscript of 
the foregoing work. The interpreter examined it and 
returned it to me, saying, ''It is an interesting work; 
it will do much good.'* I also showed him another 
manuscript, which I had intended for the Committee 
of Public Safety. It is entitled, "Observations on the 
Commerce between the United States of America and 
France." 

After the examination of my papers was finished, the 
guards conducted me to the prison of the Luxembourg, 
where they left me as they would a man whose unde- 
served fate they regretted. I offered to write under 
the proces-verbal they had made, that they had exe- 
cuted their orders with civility, but they declined it. 

THOMAS PAINE. 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. g3 



PREFACE TO PART II. 

I have mentioned in the former part of The Age of 
Reason that it had long been my intention to pubHsh 
my thoughts upon Religion, but that I had originally 
reserved it to a later period in life, intending it to be 
the last work I should undertake. The circumstances, 
however, which existed in France in the latter end of 
the year 1793 determined me to delay it no longer. 
The just and humane principles of the Revolution, 
which philosophy had first diffused, had been departed 
from. The idea, always dangerous to society, as it is 
derogatory to Human Reason, that priests could for- 
give sins, though it seemed to exist no longer, had 
blunted the feelings of humanity, and callously pre- 
pared people for the commission of all manner of 
crimes. The intolerant spirit of church persecution 
had transferred itself into politics ; the tribunals, styled 
Revolutionary, supplied the place of the Inquisition ; 
the guillotine and the stake. I saw many of my 
most intimate friends destroyed ; others daily carried to 
prison ; and I had reason to believe, and had also inti- 
mations given me, that the same danger was approach- 
ing myself. 

Under these disadvantages, I began the former part 
of The Age of Reason; I had, besides, neither Bible 
nor Testament to refer to, though I was writing 
against both ; nor could I procure any ; notwithstand- 
ing which I have produced a work that no Bible be- 
liever, though writing at his ease, and with a library 
of church books about him, can refute. Towards the 
latter end of December of that year a motion was 



84 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

made and carried to exclude foreigners from the Con- 
vention. There were but two in it, Anacharisis Cloots 
and myself; and I saw I was particularly pointed at by 
Dourdon de I'Oise, in his speech on that motion. 

Conceiving", after this, that I had but a few days 
of liberty, I sat down and brought the work to a close 
as speedily as possible; and I had not finished it more 
than six hours, in the state it has since appeared, be- 
fore guards came there about three in the morning, 
with an order signed by the two Committees of Public 
Safety and Surety-General for putting me in arresta- 
tion as a foreigner, and conveyed me to the prison of 
Luxembourg. I contrived, in my way there, to call on 
Joel Barlow, and I put the manuscript of the work 
into his hands, as more safe than in my possession in 
prison ; and not knowing what might be the fate in 
France either of the writer or the work, I addressed 
it to the protection of the citizens of the United 
States. 

It is with justice that I say that the guards who 
executed this order, and the interpreter to the Com- 
mittee of General Surety, who accompanied them to 
examine my papers, treated me not only with civility, 
but with respect. The keeper of the Luxembourg, 
Benoit, a man of good heart, showed to me every 
friendship in his power, as did also all his family, while 
he continued in that station. He was removed from it, 
put into arrestation, and carried before the tribunal 
upon a malignant accusation, but acquitted. 

After I had been in the Luxembourg about three 
weeks, the Americans then in Paris went in a body to 
the Convention to reclaim me as their countryman and 
friend; but were answered by the President, Vadief; 



FACTS. TRUTHS. AND REASONS. 85 

who was also President of the Committee of Surety- 
General, and had signed the order for my arrestation, 
that I was born in England. I heard no more, after 
this, from any person out of the walls of the prison till 
the fall of Robespierre, on the 9th of Thermidor — July 
27, 1794. 

About two months before this event I was seized 
witfi a fever that in its progress had every symptom 
of becoming mortal, and from the effects of which I am 
not recovered. It was then I remembered with re- 
newed satisfaction, and congratulated myself most sin- 
cerely on having written the former part of The Age of 
Reason. I had then but little expectation of surviving, 
and those about me had less. I know, therefore, by 
experience, the conscientious trial of my own prin- 
ciples. 

I was then with three chamber comrades — Joseph 
Vanheule of Bruges, Charles Bastini and Michael Ro- 
byns of Louvain. The unceasing and anxious atten-' 
tion of these three friends to me, by night and by day, 
I remember with gratitude and mention with pleasure. 
It happened that a physician (Dr. Graham) and a 
surgeon (Mr. Bond), part of the suite of General 
O'Hara, were then in the Luxembourg. I ask not my- 
self whether it be convenient to them, as men under 
the English government, that I express to them my 
thanks ; but I should reproach myself if I did not ; and 
also to the physician of the Luxembourg, Dr. Mar- 
koski. 

I have some reason to believe, because I cannot dis- 
cover any other cause, that this illness preserved me in 
existence. Among the papers of Robespierre that were 
examined and reported upon to the Convention by a 



86 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Committee of Deputies, is a note in the handwriting 
of Robespierre, in the following words : 

Demander que Thomas Demand that Thomas 
Paine soit decrete d'accu- Paine be decreed of accu- 
sation, pour I'interet de sation for the interest of 
I'Amerique autant que de America, as well as of 
la France. France. 

From what cause it was that the intention was not 
put in execution I know not, and cannot inform my- 
self; and therefore I ascribe it to impossibility, on 
account of that illness. 

The Convention, to repair as much as lay in their 
power the injustice I had sustained, invited me pub- 
licly and unanimously to return into the Convention, 
and which I accepted, to show I could bear an injury 
without permitting it to injure my principles or my dis- 
position. It is not because right principles have been 
violated that they are to be abandoned. 

I have seen, since I have been at liberty, several 
publications written — some in America and some in 
England — as answers to the former part of The Age 
of Reason. If the authors of these can amuse them- " 
selves by so doing, I shall not interrupt them. They 
may write against the work and against me as much 
as they please ; they do me more service than they in- 
tend, and I can have no objection that they write on. 
They will find, however, by this second part, without 
its being written as an answer to them, that they must 
return to their work and spin their cobweb over again. 
The first is brushed away by accident. 

They will now find that I have furnished myself with 
a Bible and Testament ; and I can say also that I have 



PACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 87 

found them to be much worse books than I had con- 
ceived. If I had erred in anything in the former part 
of The Age of Reason, it has been by speaking better 
of some parts of those books than they deserved. 

I observe that all my opponents resort more or less 
to what they call Scripture evidence and Bible author- 
ity to help them out. They are so little masters of the 
subject as to confound a dispute about authenticity 
with a dispute about doctrines ; I will, however, put 
them right, that if they should be disposed to write 
any more, they may know how to begin. 

THOMAS PAINE. 

October, 1795. 



88 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATTOT^; 



THE AGE OF REASON. 



Part the Second. 

It has often been said that anything may be proved 
from the Bible, but before anything can be admitted as 
proved by the Bible, the Bible itself must be proved to 
be true; for if the Bible be not true, or the truth of it 
be doubtful, it ceases to have authority, and cannot 
be admitted as proof of anything. 

It has been the practice of all Christian commenta- 
tors on the Bible, and all Christian priests and preach- 
ers, to impose the Bible on the world as a mass of 
truth and as emanating from God ; they have disputed 
and wrangled, and have anathematized each other 
about the supposable meaning of particular parts and 
passages therein ; one has said and insisted that such 
a passage meant such a thing; another that it meant 
directly the contrary ; and a third, that it meant neither 
one nor the other, but something different from both ; 
and this they have called understanding the Bible. 

It has happened that all the answers that I have 
seen to the former part of The Age of Reason have 
been written by priests ; and these pious men, like their 
predecessors, contend and wrangle and pretend to 
understand the Bible ; each understands it differently, 
but each understands it best ; and they have agreed in 
nothing but In telling their readers that Thomas Paine 
understands it not. 

Now, Instead of wasting their time and heating them- 
selves In fractious disputations about doctrinal points 
drawn from the Bible, these men ought to know, and. 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. gQ 

if they do not, it is civility to inform them, that the 
first thing to be understood is whether there is suffi- 
cient authority for believing the Bible to be the voli- 
tion of God or whether there is not? 

There are matters in that book, said to be done by 
the express command of God, that are as shocking to 
humanity, and to every idea we have of moral justice, 
as anything done by Robespierre, by Carrier, by Jos- 
eph le Bon, in France, by the English government in 
the East Indies, or by any other assassin in modern 
times. When we read in the books ascribed to Moses, 
Joshua, etc., that they (the Israelites) came by stealth 
upon whole nations of people, who, as the history itself 
shows, had given them no ofifense ; that they put all 
those nations to the sword; that they spared neither 
age nor infancy; that they utterly destroyed men, 
women, and children; that they left not a soul to 
breathe; expressions that are repeated over and over 
again in those books, and that too with exulting feroc- 
ity; are we sure these things are facts? Are we sure 
that the Infinite Intelligence God of all eternity com- 
missioned those things to be done; are we sure that 
the books that tell us so were written by God's au- 
thority? 

It is not the antiquity of a tale that is any evidence of 
its truth ; on the contrary, it is a symptom of its being 
fabulous ; for the more ancient any history pretends to 
be, the more it has the resemblance of a fable. The 
origin of every nation Is buried in fabulous tradition, 
and that of the Jews is as much to be suspected as any 
other. To charge the commission of detestable vll- 
lanous acts upon the God, which in their own nature, 
and by every rule of moral justice, are crimes, as all 



90 TPIE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

assassination is, and more especially the assassination 
of infants, is matter of serious concern. The Bible tells 
us that those assassinations were done by the express 
command of God. To believe, therefore, the Bible to 
be true, Ave must unbelieve all our belief in the moral 
justice of God; for wherein could crying or smiling 
infants offend? And to read the Bible without horror, 
we must undo everything that is tender, sympathizing, 
and benevolent in the hearts of mankind. Speaking 
for myself, if I had no other evidence that the Bible 
was fabulous than the sacrifice I must make to be- 
lieve it to be true, that alone would be sufficient to 
determine my choice. 

But in addition to all the moral evidence against the 
Bible, I will in the progress of this work produce such 
other evidence as even a priest cannot deny; and show, 
from that evidence, that the Bible is not entitled to 
credit as being the volition of God. 

But before I proceed to this examination I will show 
wherein the Bible differs from all other ancient writ- 
ings with respect to the nature of the evidence neces- 
sary to establish its authenticity; and this is the more 
proper to be done because the advocates of the Bible, 
in their answers to the former part of The Age of Rea- 
son, undertake to say — and they put some stress 
thereon — that the authenticity of the Bible is as well 
established as that of any other ancient book; as if our 
belief of the one could become any rule for our belief 
of the other. 

I know, however, but of one ancient book that au- 
thoritatively challenges universal consent and belief, 
and that is ''Euclid's Elements of Geometry" was writ- 
ten by Euclid, according to chronological history, who 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 91 

lived three hundred years before Christ, and about one 
hu-idred years before Archimedes ; he was of the City 
of Alexandria, in Egypt ; and the reason is, because it 
is a book of self-evident demonstration, entirely inde- 
pendent of its author and of everything relating to 
time, place, and circumstance. The matters contained 
in that book would have the same authority they now 
have had they been written by any other person, or had 
the work been anonymous, or had the author never 
been known ; for the identical certainty of who was the 
author makes no part of our belief of the matters con- 
tained in the book. But it is quite otherwise with re- 
spect to the books ascribed to Moses, to Joshua, to 
Samuel, etc. ; those are books of testimony, and they 
testify of things naturally incredible ; and, therefore, 
the whole of our belief as to the authenticity of those 
books rest, in the first place, upon the certainty that 
they were written by Moses, Joshua, and Samuel ; sec- 
ondly, upon the credit we give to their testimony. We 
may believe the first— that is, may believe the cer- 
tainty of the authorship, and yet not the testimony — 
in the same manner that we may believe that a certain 
person gave evidence upon a case, and yet not be- 
lieve the evidence that they gave. But if it should 
be found that the books ascribed to Moses, Joshua and 
Samuel, were not written by Moses, Joshua and Sam- 
uel, every part of the authority and authenticity of 
those books is gone at once ; for there can be no such 
thing as forged or invented testimony; neither can 
there be anonymous testimony, more especially as to 
things naturally incredible ; such as that of talking with 
God face to face, or that of the sun and moon standing 
still at the command of a human being. The greatest 



92 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

part of the other ancient books are works of genius ; of 
which kind are those ascribed to Homer, to Plato, to 
Aristotle, to Demosthenes, to Cicero, etc. Here again 
the author is not an essential in the credit we give to 
any of those works ; for, as works of genius, they would 
have the same merit they have now were they anony- 
mous. Nobody believes the Trojan story, as related 
by Homer, to be true; for it is the poet only that is 
admired ; and the merit of the poet will remain, though 
.the story be fabulous. But if we disbelieve the matters 
related by the Bible authors (Moses, for instance) as 
we disbelieve the things related by Homer, there re- 
mains nothing of Moses, in our estimation, but an 
impostor. As to the ancient historians, from Herod- 
otus to Tacitus, we credit them as far as they relate 
things probable and credible, and no further; for if we 
do, we must believe the two miracles which Tacitus 
relates were performed by Vespasian, that of curing a 
lame man and a blind man, in just the same manner 
as the same things are told of Jesus Christ by his 
historians. We must also believe the miracles cited 
by Josephus, that of the sea of Pamphilia opening to 
let Alexander and his army pass, as is related to the 
Red Sea in Exodus. These miracles are quite as wjell 
authenticated as the Bible miracles, and yet we do not 
believe them; consequently the degree of evidence 
necessary to establish our belief of things naturally 
incredible, whether in the Bible or elsewhere, is far 
greater than that which obtains our belief to natural 
and probable things; and, therefore, the advocates for 
the Bible have no claim to our belief of the Bible be- 
cause that we believe things stated in other ancient 
writings; since that we believe the things stated in 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 93 

these writings no further than they are probable and 
credible, or because they are self-evident, like Euclid; 
or admire them because they are elegant, like Homer; 
or approve them because they are sedate, like Plato,' 
or judicious, like Aristotle. 

Having premised these things, I proceed to examine 
the authenticity of the Bible, and I begin with what are 
called the five books of Moses — Genesis, Exodus, Levit- 
icus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. My intention is to 
show that those books are spurious, and that Moses is 
not the author of them; and, still further, that they 
were not written in the time of Moses, nor till several 
hundred years afterwards ; that they are no other than 
an attempted history of the life of Moses, and of the 
times in which he is said to .have lived, and also of the 
times prior thereto, written by some very ignorant and 
stupid pretenders to authorship, several hundred years 
after the death of Moses, as men now write histories 
of things that happened, or are supposed to have hap- 
pened, several hundred or several thousand years 
ago. 

The evidence that I shall produce in this case is 
from the books themselves ; and I will confine myself 
to this evidence only. Were I to refer for proofs to 
any of the ancient authors whom the advocates of the 
Bible call profane authors, they would controvert that 
authority as I controvert theirs ; I will therefore meet 
them on their own ground, and oppose them with their 
own weapon — the Bible. 

In the first place, there is no affirmative evidence 
that Moses is the author of those books ; and that he 
is the author is altogether an unfounded opinion, got 
abroad nobody knows how. The style and manner in 



94 ■ THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

which those books are written give no room to believe, 
or even to suppose, they were written by Moses; for 
it is altogether the style and manner of another person 
speaking of Moses. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Num- 
bers (for everything in Genesis is prior to the times 
of Moses and not the least allusion is made to him 
therein) — the whole, I say, of these books is in the 
third person ; it is always, the Lord said unto Moses, or 
Moses said unto the Lord: or Moses said^ unto the 
people, or the people said unto Moses; and this is the 
style and manner that historians use in speaking of the 
persons whose lives and actions they are writing. It 
may be said that a man may speak of himself in the 
third person ; and, therefore, it may be supposed that 
Moses did; but supposition proves nothing; and if the 
advocates for the belief that Moses wrote those books, 
himself have nothing better to advance than supposi- 
tion, they may as well be silent. 

But granting the grammatical right, that Moses 
might speak of himself in the third person because any 
people might speak of themselves in that manner, it 
cannot be admitted as a fact in those books, that it is 
Moses who speaks, without rendering Moses truly ri- 
diculous and absurd ; for example. Numbers xii, 3 : 
"Now the man Moses was very MEEK, above all the 
men which were upon the face of the earth." If Moses 
said this of himself, instead of being the meekest of 
men, he was one of the most vain and arrogant cox- 
combs ; and the advocates for those books may now 
take which side they please, for both sides are against 
them ; if Moses was not the author, the books are with- 
out authority; and if he was the author, the author 
is without credit, because to boast of meekness is the 
reverse of meekness and is a lie in sentiment. 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 95 

In Deuteronomy, the style and manner of writing 
marks rriore evidently than in the former books that 
Moses is not the writer. The manner here used is 
dramatical; the writer opens the subject by a short 
introductory discourse, and then introduces Moses as 
in the act of speaking; and when he has made Moses 
finish his harangue, he (the writer) resumes his own 
part, and speaks till he brings Moses forward again, 
and at last closes the scene with an account of the 
death, funeral, and character of Moses. 

This interchange of speakers occurs four times in 
this book : from the first verse of the first chapter to 
the end of the fifth verse, it is the writer who speaks ; 
the writer then introduces Moses as in the act of 
making Moses harangue, and this continues to the end 
of iv, 40; here the writer drops Moses, and speaks 
historically of what was done in consequence of what 
Moses, when living, is supposed to have said, and 
which the writer has dramatically rehearsed. 

The writer opens the subject again in the first verse 
of the fifth chapter, though it is only by saying that 
Moses called the people of Israel together; he then 
introduces Moses as before, and continues Moses, as in 
the act of speaking, to the end of the twenty-sixth 
chapter. He does the same thing at the beginning of 
the twenty-seventh chapter; and continues Moses, as 
in the speaking, to the end of the twenty-eighth chap- 
ter. At chapter xxix the writer speaks again through 
the whole of the first verse, and the first line of the 
second verse, where he introduces Moses for the last 
time, and continues Moses, as in the act of speaking, to 
the end of the thirty-third chapter. 

The writer having now finished the rehearsal on the 



96 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

part of Moses, comes forward, and speaks through the 
whole of the last chapter; the writer begins by telling 
the reader that Moses went up to the top of Pisgah ; 
that Moses saw from thence the land which (the writer 
says) had been promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- 
cob ; that Moses died there, in the land of Moab, that 
the writer buried Moses in a valley in the land of 
Moab, but that no person knoweth of Moses' sepulchre 
unto this day — that is, unto the time in which the 
writer lived who wrote the book of Deuteronomy. The 
writer then tells us that Moses was one hundred and 
ten years old when Moses died ; that Moses' eyes were 
not dim, nor Moses' natural force abated; and the 
writer concludes by saying that there arose not a 
prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom, says 
this anonymous writer, the Lord knew face to face. 

Having thus shown, as far as grammatical evidence 
implies, that Moses was not the writer of those books, 
I will, after making a few observations on the incon- 
sistencies of the writer of the book of Deuteronomy, 
proceed to show, from the historical and chronological 
evidence contained in those books, that Moses was not, 
because Moses could not be, the writer of them ; and, 
consequently, that there is no authority for believing 
that the inhuman and horrid butcheries of men, women 
and children, told in those books, were done, as those 
books say they were, at the command of God. It is a 
duty incumbent on all true Freethinkers, that they 
vindicate the moral justice of God against the calum- 
nies of the Bible. 

The writer of the book of Deuteronomy, whoever 
the writer was (for it is an anonymous work), is ob- 
scure, and also contradictory in the account the writer 
has given of Moses. 



i^ACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. Q? 

After telling that Moses went to the top of Pisgah 
(and it does not appear from any account that Moses 
ever came down again), the writer tells us that Moses 
died there in the land of Moab, and that the writer 
buried Moses in a valley in the land of Moab ; but as 
there is no antecedent that show who the writer was 
that killed Moses, and buried Moses, leveled the 
ground, sowed seed on, so that the writer of Deuter- 
onomy over three hundred years later could not tell 
where Moses was buried. Some Bible commentators 
say that the writer was God, that God killed Moses, 
and God buried Moses. For certainly Moses could not 
tell who killed and buried Moses, but it was the writer 
of Deuteronomy that composed the whole false record. 

The writei also tells us that no person knoweth 
where the sepulchre of Moses is unto this day, mean- 
ing the time in which this writer lived ; how then 
should the writer know that Moses was buried in a 
valley in the land of Moab? For, as the writer lived 
long after the time of Moses, as is evident from the 
writer using the expression unto this day, meaning a 
great length of time after the death of Moses, the 
writer certainly was not at his funeral; and, on the 
other hand, it is impossible that Moses himself could 
say that no person knoweth where the sepulchre is 
unto this day. To make Moses the speaker would' be 
an improvement on the play of a child that hides him- 
self and cries "Nobody can find me." Nobody can 
find Moses. 

This writer has nowhere told us how the writer came 
by the speeches which the writer has put into the 
mouth of Moses to speak, and, therefore, we have a 
right to conclude that the writer either composed them 



98 THE &IMi?SON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

or wrote them from oral tradition. One or other of 
these is the more probable, since the writer has given, 
in the fifth chapter, a table of commandments in which 
that called the fourth commandment is different from 
the fourth commandment in Exodus xx. In that of 
Exodus, the reason given for keeping the seventh day 
is, "because (says the commandment) God made the 
heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the 
seventh ;" but'in that of Deuteronomy the reason given 
is that it was the day on which the children of Israel 
came out of Egypt, and therefore, says this command- 
ment, the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the 
sabbath-day.. This makes no mention of the genesis 
lie, but that of the coming out of Egypt. There are 
also many things given as laws of Moses in this book 
that are not to be found in any of the other books ; 
among which is that inhuman and brutal law (xxi, 
18-21) which authorizes parents, the father and the 
mother, to bring their own children to have them 
stoned to death for what it pleased them to call stub- 
bornness. But priests have always been fond of 
preaching up Deuteronomy, for Deuteronomy preaches 
up tithes ; and it is from that book (xxv, 4) they have 
taken the phrase and applied it to tithing, that "thou 
shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the 
corn ;" and that this might not escape observation, 
they have noted it in the table of contents at the head 
of the chapter, though it is only a single verse of less 
than two lines. O priests, priests ! you are willing to 
be compared to an ox, for the sake of tithes. The ox 
is a castrated animal, and the priest and monks should 
be; "not for the kingdom of heaven's sake," but to 
deprive them of joyous felicity with women that they 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 99 

neither feed or pay. Though it is impossible for us to 
know identically who the writer of Deuteronomy was, 
it is not difficult to discover the writer professionally, 
that he was some Jewish rabbi who lived, as I shall 
show in the course of this work, at least three hundred 
and fifty years after the time of Moses. 

I come now to speak of the historical and chrono- 
logical evidence. The chronology that I shall use is 
the Bible chronology; for I mean not to go out of the 
Bible for evidence of anything, but to make the Bible 
itself prove historically and chronologically that Moses 
is not the author of the books ascribed to Moses. It is 
therefore proper that I inform the reader (such a one 
at least as may not have the opportunity of knowing it) 
that in the larger Bibles, and also in some smaller ones, 
there is a series of chronology printed in the margin 
of every page for the purpose of showing how long 
the historical matters stated in each page happened, 
or are supposed to have happened, before Christ, and, 
consequently, the distance of time between one his- 
torical circumstance and another. 

I begin with the book of Genesis. In Genesis xiv 
the writer gives an account of Lot being taken prisoner 
in a battle between the four kings against five, and 
carried off; and that when the account of Lot being 
taken came to Abraham, he armed all his household 
and marched to rescue Lot from the captors ; and that 
he pursued them unto Dan (verse 14). 

To show in what manner this expression of pur- 
suing them unto Dan applies to the case in question, I 
will refer to two circumstances, the one in America, 
the other in France. The city now called New York, 
in America, was originally New Amsterdam; and the 



100 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

town in France, lately called Havre Marat, was before 
called Havre-de-Grace. New Amsterdam was changed 
to New York in the year 1664; Havre-de-Grace to 
Havre Marat in the year 1793. Should, therefore, any 
writing be found, though without date, in which the 
name of New York should be mentioned, it would be 
certain evidence that such a writing^ could not have 
been written before, and must have been written after, 
New Amsterdam was changed to New York, and con- 
sequently not till after the year 1664, or at least during 
the course of that year. And, in like manner, any 
dateless writing with the name of Havre Marat, would 
be certain evidence that such a writing must have been 
written after Havre-de-Grace be.came Havre Marat, 
and consequently not till after the year 1793, or at 
least during the course of that year. 

I now come to the application of those cases, and to 
show that there was no such place as Dan till many 
years after the death of Moses ; and consequently, that 
Moses could not be the writer of the book of Genesis, 
wdiere this account of pursuing them unto Dan is 
given. 

The place that is called Dan in the Bible was origi- 
nally a town of the Gentiles, called Laish ; and when 
the tribe of Dan seized upon this tov/n they changed 
its name to Dan, in commemoration of Dan, who was 
the father of that tribe and the great-grandson of 
Abraham. 

To establish this in proof it is necessary to refer 
from Genesis to chapter xviii of the book called the 
Book of Judges. It is there said (verse 27) that they 
(the Danites) came unto Laish to a people that were 
quiet and secure, and they smote them with the edge 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. jQl 

of the sword (the Bible is filled with murder) and 
burned the city with fire ; and they built a city (verse 
28), and dwelt therein, and (verse 29) they called the 
name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan, their 
father, howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the 
first. 

This account of the Danites taking possession of 
Laish and changing it to Dan is placed in the book of 
Judges immediately after the death of Samson. The 
death of Samson is said to have happened 1120 years 
before Christ, and that of Moses 1451 before Christ, 
and therefore, according to the historical arrangement, 
the place was not called Dan till 331 years after the 
death of Moses. 

There is a striking confusion between the historical 
and the chronological arrangement in the book of 
Judges. The last five chapters as they stand in the 
book — xvii, xviii, xix, xx, xxi — are put chronologically 
before all the preceding chapters ; they are made to be 
286 years before xvi, 266 before xv, 245 before xiii, 
195 before ix, 90 before iv, and 15 years before the 
first chapter. This shows the uncertain and fabulous 
state of the Bible. According to the chronological 
arrangement, the taking of Laish and giving it the 
name of Dan is made to be twenty years after the 
death of Joshua, who was the successor of Moses ; and 
by the historical order as it stands in the book, it is 
made to be 306 years after the death of Joshua, and 
331 after that of Moses ; but they both exclude Moses 
from being the writer of Genesis, because, according to 
either of the statements, no such place as Dan existed 
in the time of Moses ; and therefore the writer of Gen- 
esis must have been some person who lived after the 



102 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

town of Laish had the name of Dan; and who that 
person was, nobody knows ; and consequently the book 
of Genesis is anonymous and without authority. 

I come now to state another point of historical and 
chronological evidence, and to show therefrom, as in 
the preceding case, that Moses is not the author of the 
book of Genesis. 

In the thirty-sixth chapter of Genesis there is given 
a genealogy of the sons and descendants of Esau, who 
are called Edomites, and also a list, by name, of the 
kings of Edom ; in the enumerating of which, it is said 
(verse 31) : "And these are the kings that reigned 
in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king 
over the children of Israel." 

Now, were any dateless writing to be found in which, 
speaking of any past events, the v/riter should say, 
^'These things happened before there was any Con- 
gress in America, or before there was any Convention 
in France," it would be evidence that such writing 
could not have been written before, and could only be 
written after, there was a Congress in America or a 
Convention in France, as the case might be ; and, con- 
sequently, that it could not be written by any person 
who died before there was a Congress in the one coun- 
try or a Convention in the other. 

Nothing is more frequent, as well in history as in 
conversation, than to refer to a fact in the room of a 
date. It is most natural so to do, first, because a fact 
fixes itself in the memory better than a date ; secondly, 
because the fact includes the date and serves to excite 
two ideas at once ; and this manner of speaking by cir- 
cumstances implies as positively that the fact alluded 
to is past as if it was so expressed. When a person, in 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 103 

Speaking upon any matter, says, ''It was before I was 
married,'' or "Before my son was born," or "Before I 
went to America," or "Before I went to France," it is 
absolutely understood, and intended to be understood, 
that the person has been married, that the person has 
had a son, that the person has been in America, or 
been in France. Language does not admit of using this 
mode of expression in any other sense ; and whenever 
such an expression is found anywhere, it can only be 
understood in the sense in which only it could have 
been used. 

The passage, therefore, that I have quoted — "And 
these are the kings that reigned in the land of 
Edom, before there reigned any king over the 
children of Israel" — could only have been written after 
the first king began to reign over them ; and, conse- 
quently, that the book of Genesis so far from having 
been written by Moses, could not have been written till 
the time of Saul at least. This is the positive sense of 
the passage ; but the expression, any king, implies more 
kings than one; at least it implies two, and this will 
carry it to the time of David ; and, if taken in a general 
sense, it carries itself through all times of the Jewish 
monarchy. 

Had we met with this verse in any part of the Bible 
that professed to have been written after kings began 
to reign in Israel, it would have been impossible not 
to have seen the application of it. It happens then that 
this is the case; the two books of Chronicles, which 
give a history of all the kings of Israel, are professedly, 
as well as in fact, written after the Jewish monarchy 
began; and this verse that I have quoted, and all the 
remaining verses of Genesis xxxvi, are, word for word, 



104 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

in the first chapter of Chronicles, beginning at the 
forty-third verse. 

It was with consistency that the writer of Chronicles 
could say, as he said (1 Chron. i, 43) : *'Now these 
are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before 
any king reigned over the children of Israel," because 
he was going to give, and has given, a list of the kings 
that had reigned in Israel ; but as it is impossible that 
the same expression could have been used before that 
period, it is as certain as anything can be proved from 
historical language that this part of Genesis is taken 
from Chronicles, and that Genesis is not so old as 
Chronicles, and probably not so old as the book of 
Homer, or as Aesop's Fables, admitting Homer to 
have been, as the tables of chronology state, contempo- 
rary with David or Solomon, and Aesop to have lived 
about the end of the Jewish monarchy. 

Take away from Genesis the belief that Moses was 
the author, on which only the strange belief that it is 
the volition of God has stood, and there remains noth- 
ing of Genesis but an anonymous book of stories, 
fables, and traditionary or invented absurdities, or of 
downright lies. The story of Eve and the serpent, 
and of Noah and his ark, drops to a level with the 
Arabian Tales, without the merit of being entertain- 
ing; and the account of people living to eight and nine 
hundred years becomes as fabulous as the immortality 
of the giants of the mythology. 

Besides, the character of Moses, as stated in the 
Bible, is the most horrid that can be imagined. If 
those accounts be true, he was the wretch that first 
began and carried on wars on the score, or on the 
pretense, of religion ; and under that mask, or that in- 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 105 

fatuatlon, committed the most unexampled atrocities 
that are to be found in the history of any nation, of 
which I will state only one instance. 

When the Jewish army returned from one of their 
murdering and plundering excursions, the account goes 
on as follows (Numbers xxxi, 13) : 

"And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all *the 
princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them 
without the camp ; and Moses was wroth with the 
officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, 
and captains over hundreds, which came from the 
battle ; and Moses said unto them. Have ye saved all 
the women alive? behold, these caused the children of 
Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit tres- 
pass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there 
was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. 
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, 
and kill every woman that hath known man by lying 
with him, which included Moses' father-in-law Jethro 
and family, Moses' wife and family, boys and married 
daughters. But all the women children, that have not 
known a man by lying with him, keep alive for your- 
selves." 

Among the detestable villains that in any period of 
the world have disgraced the name of the human race 
it is impossible to find a greater than Moses if this 
account be true. Here is an order to butcher the boys, 
to massacre the mothers, and debauch the daughters. 

Let any mother put herself in the situation of those 
mothers; her boys murdered, daughters destined to 
violation, and herself in the hands of an executioner; 
no doubt these mothers (Moses' wife among the rest) 
offered up prayers to the God of Mercy (no answer) ; 



106 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

let any daughter put herself in the situation of those 
daughters, destined as a prey to the murderers of a 
father, mother and brother, and what will be their 
feelings? It is in vain that we attempt to impose upon 
nature, for nature will have its course, and the religion 
that tortures all nature's social ties is a false religion. 

After this detestable order follows an account of the 
plunder taken and the manner of dividing it ; and here 
It is that the profaneness of priestly hypocrisy in- 
creases the catalogue of crimes. Verse Z7 \ "And the 
Lord's tribute of the sheep was six hundred and three- 
score and fifteen ; and the beeves were thirty and six 
thousand, of which the Lord's tribute was threescore 
and twelve ; and the asses were thirty thousand and 
five hundred, of which the Lord's tribute was three- 
score and one ; and the persons were sixteen thousand, 
of which the Lord's tribute was thirty and two." 
Among which might have been Moses' own daughter, 
to appease the lust of Moses if his Negro wife did not 
object. In that case their uncle Aaron done that 
business in the Tabernacle of the Lord. Oh! but that 
was a lovely man-God that told Moses to do things 
that way. In short, the matters contained in this 
chapter, as well as in many other parts of the Bible, 
are too horrid for humanity to read, or for decency to 
hear; for it appears, from the thirty-fifth verse of this 
chapter, that the number of virgins consigned to de- 
bauchery by the order of Moses was thirty-two thou- 
sand. 

People in general know not what wickedness there 
is in this pretended book of truth and righteousness. 
Brought up in the habits of superstition, they take it 
for granted that the Bible is true, and that it is good; 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. IQ? 

they permit themselves not to doubt It, and they carry 
the ideas they form of the benevolence of God to the 
book which they have been taught to believe was writ- 
ten by God's authority. Good heavens ! it is quite an- 
other thing; it is a book of lies, wickedness, and blas- 
phemy; for what can be greater blasphemy than to 
ascribe the wickedness of the human race to the orders 
of Infinite God. 

But to return to my subject, that of showing that 
Moses is not the author of the books ascribed to Moses 
and that the Bible is spurious. The, two instances I have 
already given would be sufficient, without any addi- 
tional evidence, to invalidate the authenticity of any 
book that pretended to be four or five hundred years 
more ancient than the matters it speaks of, or refers 
to, as facts ; for in the case of pursuing them unto Dan, 
and of the kings that reigned over the children of 
Israel, not even the flimsy pretense of prophecy can 
be pleaded. The expressions are in the preter tense, 
and it would be downright idiotism to say that a man 
could prophesy in the preter tense. 

But there are many other passages scattered through- 
out those books that unite in the same point of evi- 
dence. It is said in Exodus (another of the books 
ascribed to Moses) xvi, 35 : "And the children of Israel 
did eat manna forty years until they came to a land 
inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto 
the borders of the land of Canaan." 

Whether the children of Israel ate manna or not, or 
what manna was, or whether it was anything more 
than a kind of fungus or small mushroom, or other 
vegetable substance common to that part of the coun- 
try, makes nothing to my argument ; all that I mean to 



108 'J'HE SIMPSON-PATNE COMBINATION. 

show is, that it is not Moses that could write this ac- 
count, because the account extends itself beyond the 
lifetime of Moses. Moses, according to the Bible (but 
it is such a book of lies and contradictions there is no 
knowing w^hich part to believe, or whether any), died 
in the wilderness, and never came upon the borders of 
the land of Canaan ; and, consequently, it could not be 
Moses that said what the children of Israel did, or what 
they ate when they came there. This account of eat- 
ing manna, which they tell us was written by Moses, 
extends itself to the time of Joshua, the successor of 
Moses, as appears by the account given in the book of 
Joshua, after the children of Israel had passed the 
river Jordan, and came into the borders of the land of 
Canaan. Joshua (v, 12) : ''^And the manna ceased on 
the morn after they had eaten of the old corn of the 
land; neither had the children of Israel manna any 
more, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Ca- 
naan that year." Which they took by massacreing the 
innocent people who had raised the barley. 

But a more remarkable instance than this occurs in 
Deuteronomy, which, while it shows that Moses could 
not be the writer of that book, shows also the fabulous 
notions that prevailed at that time about giants. In 
the third chapter of Deuteronomy, among the con- 
quests said to be made by Moses, is an account of the 
taking of Og, king of Bashan (verse 11) r "For only 
Og king of Bashan remained of the race of giants ; be- 
hold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron ; is it not in 
Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was 
the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, 
after the cubit of a man." A cubit is 1 foot 9 888-1000 
inches; the length therefore, of the bed was 16 feet 4 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. IQQ 

inches, and the breadth 7 feet 4 inches. Thus much, 
for this giant's bed. Now for the historical part, which, 
though the evidence is not so direct and positive as in 
the former cases, is nevertheless very presumable and 
corroborating evidence, and is better than the best 
evidence on the contrary side. 

The writer, by way of proving the existence of this 
giant, refers to his bed as an ancient relic, and says, 
*'Is it not in Rabbath (or Rabbah) of the children of 
Ammon?" meaning that it is; for such is frequently 
the Bible method of affirming a thing. But it could 
not be Moses that said this, because Moses could know 
nothing about Rabbah, nor of what was in it. Rabbah 
was not a city belonging to this giant king, nor was it 
one of the cities that Moses took. The knowledge, 
therefore, that this bed was at Rabbah, and of the par- 
ticulars of its dimensions, must be referred to the time 
when Rabbah was taken, and this was not till four 
hundred years after the death of Moses ; for which see 
2 Sam. xii, 26: "And Joab (David's general) fought 
against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took 
the royal city." 

As I am not undertaking to point out all the contra- 
dictions in time, place, and circumstance that abound 
in the books ascribed to Moses, and which prove to a 
demonstration that those books could not be written by 
Moses, nor in the time of Moses, I proceed to the book 
of Joshua, and to show that Joshua is not the author 
of that book, and that it is anonymous and without 
authority. The evidence I shall produce is contained 
in the book itself. I will not go out of the Bible for 
proof against the supposed authenticity of the Bible. 
False testimony is always good against itself. 



110 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Joshua, according to the first chapter of Joshua, was 
the immediate successor of Moses ; he was, moreover, a 
miHtary man, which Moses was not, and he continued 
as chief of the people of Israel twenty-five years ; that 
is, from the time that Moses died, which, according to 
the Bible chronology, was 1451 years before Christ, 
until 1426 years before Christ, when, according to 
the same chronology, Joshua died. If therefore, we 
find in this book, said to have been written by Joshua, 
references to facts done after the death of Joshua, it 
is evidence that Joshua could not have been the author; 
and also that the book could not have been written till 
after the time of the latest fact which it records. As 
to the character of the book, it is horrid; it is a mili- 
tary history of rapine and murder, as savage and brutal 
as those recorded of his predecessor in villainy and 
hypocrisy, Moses; and the blasphemy consists, as in 
the former books, in ascribing those deeds to the orders- 
of a myth — a man God. 

In the first place, the book of Joshua, as is the case 
in the preceding books, is written in the third person ; 
it is the historian of Joshua that speaks, for it would 
have been absurd and vainglorious that Joshua should 
say of himself, as is said of him in the last verse of the 
sixth chapter, that "his fame was noised throughout all 
the country." I now come more immediately to the 
proof. 

In xxiv, 31, it is said that "Israel served the Lord 
all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that 
overlived Joshua." Now, in the name of common sense, 
can it be Joshua that relates what people had done 
after he wks dead? This account must not only have 
been written by some historian that lived after Joshua, 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. HI 

but that lived also after the elders that outlived Joshua. 

There are several passages of a general meaning with 
respect to time scattered throughout the book of 
Joshua that carry the time in which the book was 
written to a distance from the time of Joshua, but 
without marking by exclusion any particular time, as in 
the passage above quoted. In that passage, the time 
that intervened between the death of Joshua and the 
death of the elders is excluded descriptively and abso- 
lutely, and the evidence substantiates that the book 
could not have been written till after the death of the 
last. 

But though the passages to which I allude, and 
which I am going to quote, do not designate any par- 
ticular time by exclusion, they imply a time far more 
distant from the days of Joshua than is contained be- 
tween the death of Joshua and the death of the elders. 
Such is the passage, x, 14, where, after giving an 
account that the sun stood still upon Gibeon, and the 
moon in the valley of Ajalon, at the command of Joshua 
(a tale only fit to amuse children), the passage says, 
''And there was no day like that, before it, nor after it, 
that God hearkened to the voice of a human being." 

This tale of the sun standing still upon Mount Gib- 
eon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, is one of 
those fables that detects itself. Such a circumstance 
could not have happened without being known all 
over the world. One half would have wondered why 
the sun did not rise, and the other why it did not set ; 
and the tradition of it would be universal ; whereas, 
there is not a nation in the world that knows anything 
about it. But why must the moon stand still? What 
occasion should there be for moonlight in the day- 



112 THE SIMPSON-PATNE COMBINATION. 

time, and that too whilst the sun shined? As a poeti- 
cal figure, the whole is well enough; it is akin to that 
in the song of Deborah and Barak, The stars in their 
courses fought against Sisera; but it is inferior to the 
figurative declaration of Mahomet to the person who 
came to expostulate with him on his goings-on. *'Wert 
thou," said he *'to come to me with the sun in thy right 
hand and the moon in thy left, it should not alter my 
'"career." For Joshua to have exceeded Mahomet, he 
should have put the sun and moon one in each pocket, 
and carried them as Guy Faux carried his dark lantern, 
and taken them out to shine as he might happen to 
want them. The sublime and the ridiculous are 
often so nearly related that it is difficult to class 
them separately. One step above the sublime, 
makes the ridiculous, and one step above the 
ridiculous makes the sublime again ; the account, 
however, abstracted from the poetical fancy, shows 
the ignorance of Joshua, for he should have com- 
manded the earth to stand still. As it is the earth that 
revolves on its axis, and in its orbit around the sun. 
The sun is in the center of our universe and viewed 
from any part of our universe, never moves from that 
position. So the writer of Joshua lied. 

The time implied by the expression after it— that is, 
after that day — being put in comparison with all the 
time that passed before it, must, in order to give any 
expressive signification to the passage, mean a great 
length of time ; for example, it would have been ridicu- 
lous to have said so the next day, or the next week, or 
the next month, or the next year; to give, therefore, 
meaning to the passage, comparative with the wonder 
it relates, and the prior time it alludes to, it must mean 



FACTS. TKUTHS AND REASONS. 113 

centuries of years ; less, however, than one would be 
trifling, and less than two would be barely admis- 
sible. 

A distant but general time is also expressed in the 
eighth chapter, where, after giving an account of the 
taking of the city of Ai, it is said, verse 28th: "And 
Joshua burned Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even 
a desolation unto this day;" and again (verse 29), 
where, speaking of the king of Ai, whom Joshua had 
hanged, and buried at the entering of the gate, it is 
said, "And he raised thereon a great heap of stones, 
which remaineth unto this day" — that is, unto the day 
or time in which the writer of the book of Joshua lived. 
And again, in the tenth chapter (verse 27), where, after 
speaking of the five kings whom Joshua had hanged on 
five trees, and then thrown in a cave, it is said, "And 
he laid great stones on the cave's mouth, which remain 
unto this very day." 

In enumerating the several exploits of Joshua, and of 
the tribes, and of the places which they conquered or 
attempted, it is said (xv, 63), "As for the Jebusites, 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah 
could not drive them out ; but the Jebusites dwell with 
the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day." 
The question upon this passage is. At what time did 
the Jebusites and the children of Judah dwell together 
at Jerusalem? As this matter occurs again in the first 
chapter of Judges, I shall reserve my observations till 
I come to that part. 

Having thus shown from the book of Joshua itself, 
without any auxiliary evidence whatever, that Joshua 
is not the author of that book, and that it is anony- 



114 THE STMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

mous, and consequently without authority, I proceed, 
as before-mentioned, to the book of Judges. 

The book of Judges is anonymous on the face of it; 
and therefore even the pretense is wanting to call it 
God's truth; it has not so much as a nominal voucher; 
it is altogether fatherless. 

This book begins with the same expression as the 
book of Joshua. That of Joshua begins (i, 1), ''Now 
after the death of Moses," etc., and this of Judges 
begins, "Now after the death of Joshua," etc. This, 
and the similarity of style between the two books, indi- 
cate that they are the work of the same author, but 
who that person was is altogether unknown; the only 
point that the book proved is that the author lived long 
after the time of Joshua; for though it begins as 
if it followed immediately after his death, the second, 
chapter is an epitome or abstract of the whole book, 
which, according to the Bible chronology, extends 
its history through a space of 306 years ; that is, from 
the death of Joshua, 1426 years before Christ, to the 
death of Samson, 1120 years before Christ, and only 25 
years before Saul went to seek his father's asses, and 
was made king. But there is good reason to believe 
that it was not written till the time of David at least, 
and that the book of Joshua was not written before the 
same time. 

Here is afforded one of the many striking instances 
where the conclusions of Paine, based upon evidence 
furnished by the book he is considering, are verified 
by the latest findings of modern critical research. 
While the present edition of The Age of Reason is in 
hand a new English translation of the book of Judges, 
by the Rev. G. F. Moore, D. D., professor in Andover 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 115 

Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass., is issued as a 
part of the Polychrome Bible under the editorship of 
Prof. Paul Haupt of the Johns Hopkins University, 
Baltimore, Md., which goes even farther than did 
Paine in reducing the antiquity of the composition. 
Paine finds "good reason to believe that it (Judges) 
was not written till the time of David at least," which, 
according to Bible (or Ussher) chronology, is "about" 
1050 B. C. Professor Moore does not venture to place 
any part of the work earlier than the ninth century, 
B. C, and assigns portions of it to the sixth. Paine 
was therefore conservative in his estimate of the late 
origin of Judges. His ascription of Judges and Joshua 
to the same author, on account of the introductory 
words, "Now after the death," etc., is not without war- 
rant, and speaks as highly for his discernment as 
though one man had actually composed them both. 
We learn from Professor Moore that the words quoted 
are the formula of the final editor of the historical 
books of the Old Testament, so that the hand which 
Paine traced in the two books was really there. With- 
out that formula Judges would begin abruptly, "The 
children of Israel asked the Lord" — the question 
When? being left to the reader's imagination. What 
preceded those words in the original history is un- 
known. Professor Moore says" the matter is "lost." As 
Paine recognized the similarity of style between the 
two books, Joshua and Judges, indicates that they are 
the work of the same author ; this similarity is of 
course due to the work of the "final editor," who did 
not hesitate to add whole sentences and paragraphs. 
But the books are contradictory; their accounts of the 
conquest of Canaan are irreconcilably at variance. In 



116 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Joshua Israel invades Palestine in one great army under 
Joshua's command, and in two campaigns, with two 
decisive battles, achieves the conquest of the whole 
country, ruthlessly extirpating the entire population. 
The land was then, according to that history, allotted 
to the several Israelitish tribes, who had nothing to 
do but to take possession of the subjugated territories. 
To the contrary, in the first chapter of Judges, which 
would almost seem to have been written to contradict 
the story told in Joshua, whole districts and many 
towns are asserted to have remained in the possession 
of the enemy. 

The book of Judges is divided by Professor Moore 
into three parts, the first part — from i. 1, to ii, 5, in- 
clusive — forming a comparatively late addition. The 
second part, comprising the body of the book, includes 
ii, 6 — xvi, 31, "to which alone," it is remarked, *'the 
title in strict propriety belongs." Part third is en- 
titled ''Additional Stories of the Times of the Judges." 
Here the final editor has interpolated with the greatest 
freedom. Evidently he had before him two or more 
sources of the same narrative, which he dovetailed to- 
gether, producing confusion and contradiction. In- 
stead of one author, the books of Joshua and Judges 
had many contributors and editors. 

In the first chapter of Judges, the writer, after an- 
nouncing the death of Joshua, proceeds to tell what 
happened between the children of Judah and the native 
inhabitants of the land of Canaan. In this statement, 
the writer, having abruptly mentioned Jerusalem in the 
seventh verse, says immediately after, in the eighth 
verse, by way of explanation, "Now the children of 
Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and taken it;" 



FACTS. TRUTPIS AND REASONS. 117 

consequently this book could not have been written 
before Jerusalem had been taken. The reader will 
recollect the quotation I have just before made from 
Joshua XV, 63, where it said that ''the Jebusites dwell 
with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day;" 
meaning the time when the book of Joshua was writ- 
ten. 

The evidence I have already produced to prove that 
the books I have hitherto treated of were not written 
by the persons to whom they are ascribed, nor till 
many years after their death, if. such persons ever lived, 
is already so abundant that I can afford to admit this 
passage with less weight than I am entitled to draw 
from it. For the case is that, so far as the Bible can 
be credited as a history, the city of Jerusalem was not 
taken till the time of David; and, consequently, that 
the books of Joshua and of Judges were not written 
till after the commencement of the reign of David, 
which was 370 years after the death of Joshua. 

The name of the city that was afterwards called 
Jerusalem was originally Jebus, or Jebusi, and was the 
capital of the Jebusites. The account of David's tak- 
ing this city is given in 2 Samuel v, 4, etc. ; also in 
1 Chronicles xiv, 4, etc. There is no mention in any 
part of the Bible that it was ever taken before, nor any 
account that favors such an opinion. It is not said, 
either in Samuel or in Chronicles, that "they utterly 
destroyed men, women, and children;" that "they left 
not a soul to breathe," as is said of their other con- 
quests ; and the silence here observed implies that it 
was taken by capitulation, and that the Jebusites, the 
native inhabitants, continued to live in the place after 
it was taken. The account, therefore, given in Joshua, 



113 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

that the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at 

Jerusalem at this day, corresponds to no other time 
than after the taking of the city by David. 

Having now shown that every book in the Bible, from 
Genesis to Judges, is without authenticity, I come to 
the book of Ruth, an idle, bungling story, foolishly 
told, nobody knows by whom, about a strolling country 
girl creeping slyly to bed to her cousin Boaz. Pretty 
stufif indeed to be called the volition of God ! It is, 
however, one of the best books in the Bible, for it is 
free from murder and rapine. 

I come next to the two books of Samuel, and to show 
that those books were not written by Samuel, nor till a 
great length of time after the death of Samuel, and that 
they are, like all the former books, anonymous and 
without authority. 

To be convinced that these books have been written 
much later than the time of Samuel, and consequently, 
not by him, it is only necessary to read the account 
which the writer gives of Saul going to seek his father's 
asses, and of his interview with Samuel, of whom Saul 
went to inquire about those lost asses, as foolish people 
nowadays go to a conjurer to inquire after lost things. 

The writer in relating this story of Saul, Samuel, and 
the asses, does not tell it as a thing that had just then 
happened, but as an ancient story in the time this 
writer lived; for he tells it in the language or terms 
used at the time that Samuel lived, which obliges the 
writer to explain the story in the terms or language 
used in the time the writer lived. 

Samuel, in the account given of him in the first of 
those books (ix), is called the seer; and it is by this 
term that Saul inquires after him (verse 11), **And as 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. HQ 

they (Saul and his servant) went up the hill to the city, 
they found young maidens going out to draw water; 
and they said unto them, Is the seer here?" Saul then 
went according to the direction of those maidens, and 
met Samuel without knowing him, and said to him 
(verse 18), "Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's 
house is? and Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am 
the seer." 

As the writer of the book of Samuel relates these 
questions and answers in the language or manner of 
speaking used in the time they are said to have been 
spoken, and as that manner of speaking was out of use 
when this author wrote, he found it necessary, in order 
to make the story understood, to explain the terms in 
which these questions and answers are spoken ; and he 
does this in the ninth verse, where he says, "Before- 
time, in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, 
thus he spake. Come let us go to the seer ; for he that 
is now called a prophet, was before-time called a seer." 
This proves, as I have before said, that this story of 
Saul, Samuel, and the asses was an ancient story at the 
time the book of Samuel was written, and consequently 
that Samuel did not write it, and that the book is with- 
out authenticity. 

But if we go further into those books the evidence 
is still more positive that Samuel is not the writer of 
them; for they relate things that did not happen till 
several years after the death of Samuel. Samuel died 
before Saul; for 1 Samuel xxviii, tells that Saul and 
the witch of Endor conjured Samuel up after he was 
dead ; yet the history of the matters contained in those 
books is extended through the remaining part of Saul's 
life, and to the latter end of the life of David, who sue- 



120 FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 

ceeded Saul. The account of the death and burial of 
Samuel (a thing which he could not write himself) is 
related in chapter xxv of the first book of Samuel ; and 
the chronology affixed to this chapter makes this to 
be 1060 years before Christ ; yet the history of this first 
book is brought down to 1056 years before Christ; 
that is, to the death of Saul, which was not till four 
years after the death of Samuel. 

The second book of Samuel begins with an account 
of things that did not happen until four years after 
Samuel was dead; for it begins with the reign of 
David, who succeeded Saul, and it goes on to the end 
of David's reign, which was forty-three years after 
the death of Samuel ; and, therefore, the books are in 
themselves positive evidence that they were not writ- 
ten by Samuel. 

I have now gone through all the books in the first 
part of the Bible, to which the names of persons are 
affixed as being the authors of those books, and which 
the church styling itself the Christian church has 
imposed upon the world as the writings of Moses, 
Joshua, and Samuel ; and I have detected and proved 
the falsehood of this imposition. And now, you priests 
of every description, who have preached and written 
against the former part of The Age of Reason, what 
have you to say? Will you, with all this mass of evi- 
dence against you, and staring you in the face, still 
have the assurance to march into your pulpits, and 
continue to impose these books on your congregations 
as the works of inspired penmen and the volition of 
God, when it is as evident as demonstration can make 
truth appear that the persons who, you say, are the 
authors, are not the authors, and that you know not 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 121 

who the authors were? What shadow of pretense 
have you now to produce for continuing the blasphem- 
ous fraud? What have you still to offer against the 
pure and moral religion of The Great Moral Way, in 
support of your system of falsehood, idolatry, and 
pretended revelation? Had the cruel and murdering 
orders with which the Bible is filled, and the number- 
less torturing executions of men, women, and children, 
in consequence of those orders, been ascribed to some 
friend whose memory 3^ou revered, you would have 
glowed with satisfaction at detecting the falsehood of 
the charge, and gloried in defending their injured 
fame. It is because you are sunk in the cruelty of 
superstition, or feel no interest in the honor of your 
existence that you listen to the horrid tales of the 
Bible, or hear them with callous indifference. The 
evidence I have produced, and shall still produce in the 
course of this work, to prove that the Bible is without 
authority will, whilst it wounds the stubbornness of a 
priest, relieve and tranquilize the minds of millions; 
it will free them from all those hard thoughts of a 
revengeful God which priestcraft and the Bible had in- 
fused into their minds, and which stood in everlast- 
ing opposition to all their ideas of God's moral justice 
and benevolence. 

I come now to the two books of Kings and the two 
books of Chronicles. Those books are altogether his- 
torical, and are chiefly confined to the lives and actions 
of the Jewish kings, who in general were a parcel 
of rascals ; but these are matters with which we have 
no more concern than we have with the Roman emi- 
perors or Homer's account of the Trojan war. Be- 
sides which, as those books are anonymous, and as we 



122 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

know nothing of the writers, or of their character, 
it is impossible for us to know what degree of credit 
to give to the matters related therein. Like all other 
ancient histories, they appear to be a jumble of fable 
and of fact, and of probable and of improbable things, 
but which distance of time and place, and change of 
circumstances in the world, have rendered obsolete 
and uninteresting. 

The chief use I shall make of those books will be 
that of comparing them with each other, and with 
other parts of the Bible, to show the confusion, con- 
tradiction, and cruelty in this pretended volition of 
God. 

The first book of Kings begins with the reign of 
Solomon, which, according to the Bible chronology, 
was 1015 years before Christ; and the second book 
ends 588 years before Christ, being a little after the 
reign of Zedekiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, after taking- 
Jerusalem and conquering the Jews, carried captive to 
Babylon. The two books include a space of 427 
years. 

The two books of Chronicles are a history of the 
same times, and in general of the same persons, by 
another author; for it would be absurd to suppose that 
the same author wrote the history twice over. 
The first book of Chronicles (after giving the gene- 
alogy from Adam to Saul, which takes up the first 
nine chapters) begins with the reign of David ; and 
the last book ends, as in the last book of Kings, soon 
after the reign of Zedekiah, about 588 years before 
Christ. The last two verses of the last chapter bring 
the history 52 years more forward — that is, to 536. 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. ^23 

But these verses do not belong to the book, as I shall 
show when I come to speak of the book of Ezra. 

The two books of Kings, besides the history of Saul, 
David, and Solomon, who reigned over all Israel, con- 
tain an abstract of the lives of seventeen kings and one 
queen who are styled kings of Judah, and of nineteen 
who are styled kings of Israel; for the Jewish nation, 
immediately on the death of Solomon, split into two 
parties, who chose separate kings, and who carried on 
most rancorous wars against each other. 

Those two books are little more than a history of 
assassinations, treachery, and wars. The cruelties that 
the Jews had accustomed themselves to practice on the 
Canaanites, whose country they had savagely invaded 
under a pretended gift from God, they afterwards prac- 
ticed as furiously on each other. Scarcely half their 
kings died a natural death, and, in some instances, 
whole families were destroyed to secure possession to 
the successor, who, after a few years, and sometimes 
only a few months, or less, shared the same fate. In 
the tenth chapter of the second book of Kings, an 
account is given of two baskets full of children's heads, 
seventy in number, being exposed at the entrance of 
the city; they were the children of Ahab, and were 
murdered by the orders of Jehu, whom Elisha, the 
pretended man of God, had anointed to be king over 
Israel on purpose to commit this bloody deed and as- 
sassinate his predecessor. And in the account of the 
reign of Menahem, one of the kings of Israel, who had 
murdered Shallum, w^ho had reigned but one month, 
it is said (2 Kings xv. 16), that Menahem smote the 
city of Tiphsah, because they opened not the city to 



124 THE SIMPSON-PATNE COMBINATION. 

him, and all the women therein that were with child 
he ripped up. 

Could we permit ourselves to suppose that the In- 
finite God of Love and Justice would distinguish such 
nation of people by the name of God's chosen people, 
we must suppose that these people to have been an ex- 
ample to all the rest of the world of the purest piety 
and humanity, and not such a nation of ruffians and 
cutthroats as the ancient Jews were — a people who, 
corrupted by and copying after such monsters and 
impostors as Moses and Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, and 
David, had distinguished themselves above all others 
on the face of the known earth for barbarity and wick- 
edness. If we will not stubbornly shut our eyes and 
steel our hearts, it is impossible not to see, in spite 
of all that long-established superstition imposes upon 
the mind, that the flattering appellation of God's 
chosen people is no other than a lie which the priests, 
and leaders of the Jews had invented to cover the 
baseness of their own characters, and which Christian 
priests sometimes as corrupt, and often as cruel, have 
professed to believe. 

The two books of Chronicles are a repetition of the 
same crimes ; but the history is broken in several 
places by the author leaving out the reign of some of 
their kings; and in this as well as in -that of Kings, 
there is such a frequent transition from kings of Judah 
to kings of Israel, and from kings of Israel to kings 
of Judah, that the narrative is obscure in the reading. 
In the same book the history sometimes contradicts 
itself; for example, in 2 Kings i, 17, we are told, but 
in rather ambiguous terms, that after the death of 
Ahaziah, king of Israel, Jehoram, or Joram (who was 



FACTS. TRUTHS AKD REASONS. 125 

of the house of Ahab), reigned in his stead in the 
second year of Jehoram, or Joram, son of Jehosha- 
phat, king of Judah ; and in viii, 16, of the same book, 
it is said, "And in the fifth year of Joram, the son of 
Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, being then king of 
Judah, Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Ju- 
dah, began to reign ;" that is, one chapter says Joram 
of Judah began to reign in the second year of Joram 
of Israel; and the other chapter says, that Joram of 
Israel began to reign in the fifth year of Joram of 
Judah. 

Several of the most extraordinary matters related m 
one history as having happened during the reign of 
such or such of their kings are not to be found in the 
other, in relating the reign of the same king; for 
example, the first two rival kings, after the death of 
Solomon, were Rehoboam and Jeroboam; and in 1 
Kings xii' and xiii, an account is given of Jeroboam 
making" an offering of burnt incense; and that a man 
who is there called a man of God cried out against the 
altar (xiii, 2) : "O altar, altar ! thus saith the Lord : 
Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, 
Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests 
of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and 
men's bones shall be burnt upon thee." Verse 4: 
*'And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the 
saying of the man of God, which had cried against the 
altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the 
altar, saying: Lay hold on him; and his hand which he 
put out against him dried up, so that he could not pull 
it again to him." 

One would think that such an extraordinary case as 
this (which is spoken of as a judgment), happening to 



126 THE STMPSON-PATNE COMBINATION. 

the chief of one of the parties, and that at the first 
moment of the separation of the Israelites into two 
nations, would, if it had been true, have been recorded 
in both histories. But though men, in latter times, 
have believed all that the prophets have said unto 
them, it does not appear that these prophets or his- 
torians believed each other; they knew each other too 
well. 

A long account also is given in Kings about Elijah. 
It runs through several chapters and concludes with 
telling (2 Kings ii, 11) : "And it came to pass, as they 
(Elijah and Elisha) still went on, and talked, that, 
behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of 
fire, and parted them both asunder, and Elijah went 
up by a whirlwind into heaven." Hum! this the au- 
thor of Chronicles, miraculous as the story is, makes 
no mention of, though he mentions Elijah by name; 
neither does he say anything of the story related in 
the second chapter of the same book of Kings, of a 
parcel of children calling Elisha bald head, bald head; 
and that this man of God (verse 24) turned back, and 
looked upon them, and cursed them in the name of the 
God; and there came forth two she-bears out of the 
wood, and tare forty and two children of them." He 
also passes over in silence the story told (2 Kings xiii) 
that when they were burying a man in the sepulchre 
where Elisha had been buried, it happened that the 
dead man, as they were letting him down (verse 21) 
''touched the bones of Elisha, and he (the dead man) 
revived, and stood upon his feet." The story does not 
tell us whether they buried the man notwithstanding 
he revived and stood upon his feet, or drew him up 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 127 

again. Upon all these stories the writer of Chronicles 
is as silent as any writer of the present day who did 
not choose to be accused of lying, or at least of ro- 
mancing, would be about stories of the same kind. 

But, however these two historians may differ from 
each other with respect to the tales related by either, 
they are silent alike with respect to those men styled 
prophets whose writings fill up the latter part of the 
Bible. Isaiah, who lived in the time of Hezekiah, is 
mentioned in Kings, and again in Chronicles, when 
these histories are speaking of that reign; but except 
in one or two instances at most, and those very slight- 
ly, none of the rest are so much as spoken of, or even 
their existence hinted at ; though, according to the Bible 
chronology, they lived within the time those histories 
were written ; and some of them long before. If those 
prophets, as they are called, were of such importance 
in their day as the compilers of the Bible and priests 
and commentators have since represented them to be, 
how can it be accounted for that not one of those his- 
tories should say anything about them? 

The history in the books of Kings and of Chronicles 
is brought forward, as I have already said, to the year 
588 before Christ ; it will therefore be proper to exam- 
ine which of these prophets lived before that period. 

Here follows a table of all the prophets, with the 
times in which they lived before Christ, according to 
the chronology affixed to the first chapter of each of 
the books of the prophets ; and also of the number of 
years they lived before the books of Kings and Chron- 
icles were written : 



128 



THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 



Table of the Prophets, with the time in which they lived before 
Christ, and also before Ihe books of Kings and Chronicles 
were written: 



Names 




Years be- 
fore Kings 
and Chron- 
icles 


Observations 


Isaiah 


760 

629 

595 
607 
785 
800 
787 
862 
750 
713 
626 
630 


172 

41 

7 

19 

97 

212 

199 

274 

162 

125 

38 

42 


mentioned. 


Jeremiah . 


\ mentioned only in the 


Ezekiel 


] last ( 2 ) chap, of Chron. 
not mentioned. 


Daniel 

Hosea 


not mentioned, 
not mentioned. ■ 


Joel 


not mentioned. 


Amos 

Jonah 

Micah 


not mentioned, 
see the note, 
not mentioned. 


Nahum 


not mentioned 


Habakkuk 


not mentioned. 


Zephaniah 


not mentioned. 


Haggai ] 
Zechariah ( after the 
Malachi ( year 588 
Obadiah ) 





This table is either not very honorable for the Bible 
historians or not very honorable for the ^ible proph- 
ets, and I leave to priests and commentators, who are 
very learned in little things, to settle the point of 
etiquette between the two, and to assign a reason why 
the authors of Kings and Chronicles have treated those 
prophets, whom in the former part of The Age of 
Reason I have considered as poets, with as much de- 
grading silence as any historian of the present day 
would treat Peter Pindar. 

In 2 Kings xiv, 25, the name of Jonah is mentioned 
on account of the restoration of a tract of land by 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. ^29 

Jeroboam; but nothing further is said of him, nor is 
any allusion made to the book of Jonah, nor to his ex- 
pedition to Nineveh, nor to his encounter with the 
whale. 

I have one observation more to make on the book of 
Chronicles, after which I shall pass on to review the 
remaining books of the Bible. 

In my observations on the book of Genesis I have 
quoted a passage from xxxvi, 31, which evidently re- 
fers to a time after that kings began to reign over the 
children of Israel ; and I have shown that as this verse 
is verbatim the same as in 1 Chronicles i, 43, where it 
stands consistently with the order of history, which in 
Genesis it does not, the verse in Genesis and a great 
part of the thirty-sixth chapter have been taken from 
Chronicles ; and that the book of Genesis, though it is 
placed first in the Bible, and ascribed to Moses, has 
been manufactured by some unknown person after the 
book of Chronicles was written, which was not until 
at least eight hundred and sixty years after the time 
of Moses. 

The evidence I proceed by to substantiate this is 
regular and has in it but two stages. First, as I have 
already stated, that the passage in Genesis refers it- 
self for time to Chronicles ; secondly, that the book of 
Chronicles, to which this passage refers itself, was not 
begun to be written until at least eight hundred and 
sixty years after the time of Moses. To prove this, we 
have only to look into 1 Chronicles iii, 13, where the 
writer, in giving the genealogy of the descendants of 
David, mentions Zedekiah ; and it was in the time of 



].30 THE SIMPSON- PAINE COMBINATION. 

Zedekiah that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, 
588 years before Christ, and consequently more than 
860 years after Moses. Those who have superstitious- 
ly boasted of the antiquity of the Bible, and particu- 
larly of the books ascribed to Moses, have done it 
without examination, and without any other author- 
ity than that of one credulous person telling it to an- 
other; for, so far as historical and chronological evi- 
dence applies, the very first book in the Bible is not 
so ancient as the book of Homer by more than three 
hundred years, and is about the same age with Aesop's 
Fables. 

I am not contending for the morality of Homer; on 
the contrary, I think it a book of false glor)^, tending 
to inspire immoral and mischievous notions of honor; 
and with respect to Aesop, though the moral is in gen- 
eral just, the fable is often cruel; and the cruelty of 
the fable does more injury to the heart, especially in a 
child, than the moral does good to the judgment. 

Having now dismissed Kings and Chronicles, I 
come to the next in course — the book of Ezra. 

As one proof, among others I shall produce to show 
the disorder in which this pretended volition of God, 
the Bible, has been put together, and the uncertainty 
of who the authors were, we have only to look at the 
first three verses in Ezra, and the last two in 2 Chron- 
icles ; for by what kind of cutting and shuffling has it 
been that the first three verses in Ezra should be the 
last two verses in Chronicles, or that the last two in 
Chronicles should be the first three in Ezra? Either 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 



131 



the authors did not know their own works, or the 
compilers did not know the authors. 

Last Two Verses of First Three Verses of 

2 Chronicles. Ezra. 



22 Now in the first year 
of Cyrus king of Persia, 
that the word of the Lord 
spoken by the mouth of 
Jeremiah might be ac- 
complished, the Lord 
stirred up the spirit of 
Cyrus king of Persia, that 
he made a proclamation 
throughout all his king- 
dom, and put it also in 
writing, saying, 

23 Thus saith Cyrus 
king of Persia, All the 
kingdoms of the earth 
hath the Lord God of 
heaven given me ; and he 
hath charged me to build 
him an house in Jerusa- 
lem, which is in Judah. 
Who is there among you 
of all his people? The 
Lord his God be with him, 
and let him go up. 



1 Now in the first year 
of Cyrus king of Persia, 
that the word of the Lord 
by the mouth of Jeremiah 
might ' be fulfilled, the 
Lord stirred up the spirit 
of Cyrus king of Persia, 
that he made a proclama- 
tion throughout all his 
kingdom, and put it also 
in writing, saying. 

2 Thus saith Cyrus king 
of Persia, The Lord God 
of heaven hath given me 
all the kingdoms of the 
earth; and he hath charg- 
ed me to build him an 
house at Jerusalem, which 
is in Judah. 

3 Who is there among 
you of all his people? his 
God be with him, and let 
him go up to Jerusalem, 
which is in Judah, and 
build the house of the 
Lord God of Israel (he is 
the God), which is in Je- 
rusalem. 



132 THE SIMPSON-PATNE COMBINATION. 

The last verse in Chronicles is broken abruptly, and 
ends in the middle of the phrase with the word up, 
without 'signifying to what place. This abrupt break, 
and the appearance of the same verses in different 
books, shov/, as I have already said, the disorder and 
ignorance in which the Bible has been put together, 
and that the compilers of it had no authority for what 
they were doing, nor we any authority for believing 
what they have done. 

I observed, as I passed along, several broken and 
senseless passages in the Bible, without thinking 
them of consequence enough to be introduced in the 
body of the work; such as that, 1 Samuel xiii, 1, where 
it is said, ''Saul reigned one year; and when he had 
reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three 
thousand men," etc. The first part of the verse, that 
Saul reigned one year, has no sense, since it does not 
tell us what Saul did, nor say anything of what hap- 
pened at the end of that one year; and it is, besides, 
mere absurdity to say he reigned one year, when the 
very next phrase says he had reigned two ; for if 
he had reigned tw^o, it was impossible not to have 
reigned one. 

Another instance occurs in Joshua v, where the 
writer tells us a story of an angel (for such the table 
of contents at the head of the chapter calls him) ap- 
pearing unto Joshua ; and the story ends abruptly and 
without any conclusion. The story is as follows 
(Verse 13) : "And it came to pass, when Joshua was 
by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and 
behold, there stood a man over against him with his 
sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went unto him 
and said unto him. Art thou for us, or for our ad- 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 133 

versaries?" Verse 14: ''And he said, Nay; but as cap- 
tain of the hosts of the Lord am I now come. And 
Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship 
and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his serv- 
ant?" Verse 15: "And the captain of the Lord's host 
said unto Joshua', Loose thy shoes from off thy foot ; 
for the place whereupon thou standest is holy. And 
Joshua did so." And what then? Nothing; for here 
the story ends, and the chapter likewise. 

Either this story is broken off in the middle, or it is 
a story told by some Jewish humorist, in ridicule of 
Joshua's pretended mission from God, and the com- 
pilers of the Bible, not perceiving the design of the 
story, have told it as a serious matter. As a story of 
humor and ridicule, it has a great deal of point, for it 
pompously intsoduces an angel in the figure of a man, 
with a drawn sword in his hand, before whom Joshua 
falls on his face to the earth and worships (which is 
contrary to their second commandment) ; and then this 
most important embassy from heaven ends in telling 
Joshua to take off his shoes. It might as well have told 
him to pull up his breeches 

It is certain, however, that the Jews did not credit 
everything their leaders told them, as appears from the 
cavalier manner in which they speak of Moses when he 
was gone into the mount. "As for this Moses," say 
they, "we wot not what is become of him." Ex. xxxii, 
L 

The only thing that has any appearance of certainty 
in the book of Ezra is the time in which it was written, 
which was immediately after the return of the Jews 
from the Babylonian captivity, about 536 years before 
Christ. Ezra (who, according to the Jewish com-= 



J^34 TlIE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

mentators, is the same person as is called Esdras in 
the Apocrypha) was one of the persons who returned, 
and who, it is probable, wrote the account of that af- 
fair. Nehemiah, whose book follows next to Ezra, 
was another of the returned persons, and who, it is 
also probable, wrote the account of the same affair in 
the book that bears his name. But those accounts are 
nothing to us, nor to any other persons, unless it be to 
the Jews, as a part of the history of their nation; and 
there is just as much of revelation of God in those 
books as there is in any of the histories of France, or 
Rapin's history of England, or the history of any other 
country. 

But even in matters of historical record, neither of 
those writers is to be depended upon. In the second 
chapter of Ezra, the writer gives a list of the tribes 
and families, and of the precise number of souls of 
each that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem; and 
this enrollment of the persons so returned appears to 
have been one of the principal objects for writing the 
book; but in this there is an error that destroys the 
intention of the undertaking. 

The writer begins his enrollment in the following 
manner (ii, 3) : ''The children of Parosh, two thousand 
one hundred seventy and two." Verse 4: "The chil- 
dren of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two." 
And in this manner he proceeds through all the fami- 
lies ; and in the sixty-fourth verse he makes a total, 
and says the whole congregation together was forty 
and two thousand three hundred and threescore. 

But whoever will take the trouble of casting up the 
several particulars will find that the total is but 29,818; 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 



135 



so that the error is 12,542.* What certainty then can 

there be in the Bible for anything? 

* Particulars of the families from the Second Chapter of Ezra. 



Chap. ii. 


Bro't forw. 


11577 


Bro't forw. 


15783 


Bro't forw. 


19444 


Verse 


Verse 




Verse 




Verse 




3 2172 


13 


666 


23 


128 


33 


725 


4 372 


14 


2056 


24 


42 


34 


345 


5 775 


15 


454 


25 


743 


35 


3630 


6 2812 


16 


98 


26 


621 


36 


973 


7 1254 


17 


323 


27 


122 


37 


1052 


8 945 


18 


112 


28 


223 


38 


1247 


9 760 


19 


223 


29 


52 


39 


1017 


10 642 


20 


95 


30 


156 


40 


74 


11 623 


21 


123 


31 


1254 


41 


128 


12 1222 


22 


06 


32 


320 


42 
58 
60 

Total.... 


139 
392 
652 


11,577 


15,783 


19,444 


..29,818 



Nehemiah, in Hke manner, gives a Hst of the re- 
turned families, and of the number of each family. 
He begins as in Ezra, by saying (vii, 8) : "The chil- 
dren of Parosh, two thousand three hundred and sev- 
enty-two;" and so on through all the families. The 
list differs in several of the particulars from that of 
Ezra. In the sixty-sixth verse Nehemiah makes a 
total, and says, as Ezra had said, ''The whole congre- 
gation together was forty and two thousand three hun- 
dred and three score." But the particulars of this list 
make a total but of 31,089, so that the error here is 
11,271. These writers may do well enough for Bible- 
makers, but not for anything where truth and exact- 
ness are necessary. The next book in course is the 
book of Esther. If Madam Esther' thought it any 
honor to offer herself as a kept mistress to Ahasuerus, 
or as a rival to Queen Vashti, who had refused to come 



136 I'HE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

to a drunken king, in the midst of a drunken company, 
to be made a show of (for the account says they had 
been drinking seven days, and were merry), let Esther 
and Mordecai look to that, it is no business of ours ; 
at least, it is none of mine; besides which, the story 
has a great deal the appearance of being fabulous, and 
is also anonymous. I pass on to the book of Job. 

The book of Job differs in character from ah the 
books we have hitherto passed over. Treachery and 
rhurder make no part of this book ; it is the meditations 
of a mind strongly impressed with the vicissitudes of 
human life, and by turns sinking under and struggling 
against the pressure. It is a highly wrought composi- 
tion, between willing submission and involuntary dis- 
content; and shows persons, as they sometimes are, 
more disposed to be resigned than they are capable 
of being. Patience has but a small share in the char- 
acter of the persons of whom the book treats; on the 
contrary, their grief is often impetuous; but they still 
endeavor to keep a guard upon it, and seems deter- 
mined, in the midst of accumulating ills, to impose 
upon themselves the hard duty of contentment. 

I have spoken in a respectful manner of the book of 
Job in the former part of The Age of Reason, but with- 
out knowing at that time what I have learned since; 
which is, that from all the evidence that can be col- 
lected, the book of Job does not belong to the Bible. 

I have seen the opinion of two Hebrew commenta- 
tors, Abenezra and Spinoza, upon this subject; they 
both say that the book of Job carries no internal evi- 
dence of being a Hebrew book ; that the genius of the 
composition, and the drama of the piece, are not He- 
brew; that it has been translated from another Ian- 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 137 

guage into Hebrew, and that the author of the book 
was a Gentile ; that the character represented under 
the name of Satan (which is the first and only time 
this name is mentioned in the Bible) does not cor- 
respond to any Hebrew idea ; and that the two convo- 
cations which God is supposed to have made of those 
whom the poem calls sons of God, and the familiarity 
which this supposed Satan is stated to have with 
God, are in the same case. 

It may also be observed that the book shows itself 
to be the production of a mind cultivated in science 
which the Jews, so far from being famous for, were 
very ignorant of. The allusions to objects of natural 
philosophy are frequent and strong, and are of a dif- 
ferent cast to anything in the books known to be He- 
brew. The astronomical names, Pleiades, Orion, and 
Arcturus, are Greek and not Hebrew names, and it 
does not appear from anything that is to be found 
in the Bible that the Jews knew anything of astrono- 
my, or that they studied it; they had no translation 
of those names into their own language, but adopted 
the names as they found them in the poem. 

That the Jews did translate the literary pro- 
ductions of the Gentile nations into the Hebrew lan- 
guage, and mix them with their own, is not a matter 
of doubt; Proverbs xxxi, 1, is an evidence of this; it 
is there said, "The word of King Lemuel, the proph- 
ecy which his mother taught him." This verse stands 
as a preface to the proverbs that follow, and which are 
not the proverbs of Solomon, but of Lemuel ; and this 
Lemuel was not one of the kings of Israel, nor of 
Judah, but of some other country, and consequently 
a Gentile. The Jews, however, have adopted his 



138 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

proverbs, and as they cannot give any account who 
the author of the book of Job was, nor how they came 
by the book; and as it differs in character from the 
Hebrew writings, and stands totally unconnected with 
every other book and chapter in the Bible, before it 
and after it, it has all the circumstantial evidence of 
being originally a book of the Gentiles. 

The prayer known by the name of Agur's Prayer, 
in Proverbs xxx, immediately preceding the proverbs 
of Lemuel, and which is the only sensible, well-con- 
ceived, and well-expressed prayer in the Bible, has 
much the appearance of being a prayer taken from 
the Gentiles. The name of Agur occurs on no other 
occasion than this ; and he is introduced, together with 
the prayer ascribed to him, in the same manner, and 
nearly in the same words, that Lemuel and his prov- 
erbs are introduced in the chapter that follows. The 
first verse of the thirtieth chapter says, "The words of 
Agur, son of Jakeh, even the prophecy ;" here the word 
prophecy is used with the same application it has in the 
following chapter of Lemuel, unconnected with any- 
thing of prediction. The prayer of Agur is in the 
eighth and ninth verses, ''Remove far from me vanity 
and lies ; give me neither riches nor povert}'-, but feed 
me with food convenient for me; lest I be full and 
deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be 
poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." 
This has not any of the marks of being a Jewish 
prayer, for the Jews never prayed but when they were 
in trouble, and never for anything but victory, ven- 
geance, or riches. 

The Bible-makers, and those regulators of time, the 
Bible chronologists, appear to have been at a loss 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 139 

where to place and how to dispose of the book of Job ; 
for it contains no one historical circumstance, nor al- 
lusion to any, that might serve to determine its place 
in the Bible. But it would not have answered the 
purpose of the Jews to have informed the world of 
their ignorance ; and therefore they have afhxed it to 
the era of 1520 years before Christ, which is during the 
time the Israelites were in Egypt, and for which they 
have just as much authority and no more than I should 
have for saying it was a thousand years before that 
period. The probability, however, is that it is older 
than any book in the Bible; and it is the only one that 
can be read without indignation or disgust. 

We know nothing of what the ancient Gentile world 
(as it is called) was before the time of the Jews, whose 
practice has been to calumniate and blacken the char- 
acter of all other nations ; and it is from the Jewish 
accounts that we have learned to call them heathens. 
But, as far as we know to the contrary, they were a 
just and moral people, and not addicted, like the Jews, 
to cruelty and revenge, but of whose profession of 
faith we are unacquainted. It appears to have been 
their custom to personify both virtue and vice by 
statutes and images, and is done nowadays both by 
statuary and by painting; but it does not follow from 
this that they worshiped them any more than we do. 
I pass on to the book of 

Psalms, of which it is not necessary to make much 
observation. Some of them are moral, and others are 
very revengeful; and the greater part relates to cer- 
tain local circumstances of the Jewish nation at the 
time they were written, with which we have nothing 
to do. It is, however, an error or an imposition to call 



140 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

them the Psalms of David; they are a collection, as 
song-books are nowadays, from different song-writers, 
who lived at different times. The 137th Psalm could 
not have been written till more than 400 years after the 
time of David, because it is written in commemora- 
tion of an event, the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, 
which did not happen till that distance of time. "By 
the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down ; yea, we wept 
when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps 
upon the willows, in the midst thereof; for there they 
that carried us away captive, required of us a song, 
saying. Sing us one of the songs of Zion." As a man 
would say to an American, or to a Frenchman, or to an 
Englishman, sing us one of your American songs, or of 
your French songs, or of your English songs. This 
remark with respect to the time this Psalm was writ- 
ten, is of no other use than to show (among others 
already mentioned) the general imposition the world' 
has been under with respect to the authors of the 
Bible. No regard has been paid to time, place, and 
circumstance ; and the names of persons have been 
affixed to the several books which it was as impossible 
they should write as that people should walk in pro- 
cession at their own funeral. 

The Book of Proverbs. These, like the Psalms, are 
a collection, and that from authors belonging to other 
nations than those of Jewish nations, as I have shown 
in the observations upon the book of Job ; besides 
which, some of the proverbs ascribed to Solomon did 
not appear till two hundred and fifty years after the 
death of Solomon; for it is said in xxv, 1, "These are 
also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, 
king of Judah, copied out.'* It was two hundred and 



FACTS. TRUTHS AND REASONS. 141 

fifty years from the time of Solomon to the time of 
Hezekiah. When persons are famous and their names 
are abroad, they are made the putative author of things 
they never said or did; and this, most probably, has 
been the case with Solomon. It appears to have been 
the fashion of that day to make proverbs, as it is now 
to make jest-books, and compute them upon people 
who never saw them. . 

The book of Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher, is also 
ascribed to Solomon, and that with much reason, if not 
with truth. It is written as the solitary reflections of 
a worn-out debauchee, such as Solomon was, who, 
looking back on scenes he can no longer enjoy, cries 
out, ''All is vanity !" A great deal of the metaphor 
and of the sentiment is obscure, most probably by 
translation ; but enough is left to show they were 
strongly pointed in the original. "Those that look out 
of the window shall be darkened," is an obscure figure 
in translation for loss of sight. That is, those that see 
too much of Solomon's conjugal felicity with his one 
thousand wives and concubines, they would have their 
eyes punched out. From what is transmitted to us of 
the character of Solomon, he was witty, ostentatious, 
dissolute, and at last melancholy. He lived fast, and 
died, tired of the world, at the age of fifty-eight years. 

Seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines 
are worse than none ; and, however it may carry with 
it the appearance of heightened enjoyment, it defeats 
all the felicity of affection by leaving it no point to fix 
upon ; divided love is never happy. This was the case 
with Solomon ; and if he could not, with all his pre- 
tensions of Intelligence discover it beforehand, he mer- 
ited, unpitied, the mortification he afterwards endured. 



142 THE SIMPSON-PATNE COMBINATION. 

In this poiiit of view, his preaching is unnecessary, 
because, to know the consequences, it is only necessary 
to know the cause. Seven hundred wives and three 
hundred concubines would have stood in place of the 
whole book. It was needless after this to say that all 
was vanity and vexation of spirit; for it is impossible 
to derive happiness from the company of those whom 
we deprive of happiness. 

To be happy in old age it is necessary that we accus- 
tom ourselves to objects that can accompany the mind 
all the way through life, and that we take the rest as 
good in their day. The mere person of pleasure is 
miserable in old age ; and the mere drudge in business 
is but little better ; whereas, natural philosophy, math- 
ematical and mechanical science, are a continual source 
of tranquil pleasure; and in spite of the gloomy dog- 
mas of priests, and of superstition, the study of those 
things is the study of the true theology; it teaches 
people to know and to admire the Infinite Intelligence 
God by whose impulse are illustrated and made pos- 
sible of being absorbed by finite Intelligence. 

Those who knew Bepjamin Franklin will recollect 
that his mind was ever young ; his temper ever serene ; 
a science, that never grows gray, was always his 
mistress. He was never without an object; for when 
we cease to have an object, we become like an invalid 
in a hospital waiting for death. 

Solomon's Song, amorous and foolish enough, but' 
which wrinkled fanaticism called divine. The com- 
pilers of the Bible have placed these songs after the 
book of Ecclesiastes ; and the chronologists have af- 
fixed to them the era of 1014 years before Christ, at 
which time Solomon, according to the same chronol- 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 143 

ogy, was nineteen years of age, and was then forming 
his seraglio of wives and concubines. The Bible- 
makers and the chronologists should have managed 
this matter a little better, and either have said nothing 
about the time, or chosen a time less inconsistent with 
the supposed divinity of those songs ; for Solomon 
was then in the honeymoon of one thousand debauch- 
eries. 

It should also have occurred to them that, as he 
wrote, if he did write, the book of Ecclesiastes long 
after these songs, and in which he exclaims that all is 
vanity and vexation of spirit, he included those songs 
in that description. This is more probable, because he 
says, or somebody for him (Ecclesiastes ii, 8, 11), 
"I gat me men singers, and women singers (most 
probably to sing those songs), and musical instruments 
of all sorts; and behold, all was vanity and vexation 
of spirit." The compilers, however, have done their 
work but by halves ; for as they have given us the 
songs, they should have given us the tunes, that we 
might sing them. 

The books called the books of the Prophets fill up 
all the remaining part of the Bible ; they are sixteen in 
number, beginning with Isaiah -and ending with Ma- 
lachi, of which I have given a list in the observations on 
Chronicles. Of these sixteen prophets — all of whom, 
except the last four, lived within the time the books of 
Kings and Chronicles were written — two only, Isaiah 
and Jeremiah, are mentioned in the history of those 
books. I shall begin with those two, reserving what I 
have to say on the general character of the men called 
prophets to another part of the work. 

Whoever will take the trouble of reading the book 



144 "^^^ SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

ascribed to Isaiah will find it one of the most wild and 
disorderly compositions ever put together; it has nei- 
ther beginning, middle, nor end; and, except a short 
historical part, and a few sketches of history in two or 
three of the first chapters, is one continued incoherent, 
bombastical rant, full of extravagant metaphor without 
application, and destitute of meaning; a schoolboy 
would scarcely have been excusable for writing such 
stufT; it is (at least in translation) that kind of com- 
position and false taste that is properly called prose 
run mad. 

The historical part begins at chapter xxxvi, and is 
continued to the end of chapter xxxix. It relates some 
matters that are said to have passed during the reign 
of Hezekiah, king of Judah, at which time Isaiah lived. 
This fragment of history begins and ends abruptly; 
it has not the least connection with the chapter that 
precedes it, nor with that which follows it, nor with 
any other in the book. It is probable that Isaiah 
wrote this fragment himself, because he was an actor 
in the circumstances it treats of; but, except this part, 
there are scarcely tv/o chapters that have any con- 
nection with each other; one is entitled, at the be- 
ginning of the first verse, the burden of Babylon ; an- 
other, the burden of Moab; another, the burden of 
Damascus ; another, the burden of Egypt ; another^ 
the burden of the Desert of the Sea ; another, the bur- 
den of the Valley of Vision ; as you would say, the 
story of the Knight of the Burning Mountain, the 
story of Cinderella or the Classen Slippers, the story 
of the Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, etc., etc. 

I have already shown, in the instance of the last two 
verses of 2 Chronicles, and the first three in Ezra, that 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 145 

the compilers of the Bible mixed and confounded the 
writings of different authors with each other, which 
alone, were there no other cause, is sufficient to de- 
stroy the authenticity of any compilation, because it 
is more than presumptive evidence that the compilers 
are ignorant of who the authors were. A very glaring 
instance of this occurs in the book ascribed to Isaiah : 
the latter part of chapter xliv and the beginning of 
chapter xlv, so far from having been written by Isaiah, 
could only have been written by some person who 
lived at least a hundred and fifty years after Isaiah was 
dead. 

These chapters are a compliment to Cyrus, who per- 
mitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem from the Baby- 
lonian captivity, to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, 
as is stated in Ezra. The last of Isaiah xliv, and the 
beginning of xlv are in the following words : ''That 
saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform 
all my plasure ; even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt 
be built; and to the temple. Thy foundations shall be 
laid; thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, 
whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations 
before him ; and I will loose the loins of kings to open 
before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall 
not be shut; I will go before thee," etc. 

What audacity of church and priestly ignorance it is 
to impose this book upon the world as the writing of 
Isaiah, when Isaiah, according to their own chronol- 
ogy, died soon after the death of Hezekiah, which was 
698 years before Christ ; and the decree of Cyrus in 
favor of the Jews returning to Jerusalem was, accord- 
ing to the same chronology, 536 years before Christ ; 
which is a distance of time between the two of 162 



146 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

years. I do not suppose that the compilers of the 
Bible made these books, but rather that they picked 
up some loose, anonymous essays, and put them to- 
gether under the names of such authors as best suited 
their purpose. They have encouraged the imposition, 
which is next to inventing it; for it was impossible 
but they must have observed it. 

When we see the studied craft of the scripture- 
makers in making every part of this romantic book of 
schoolboy's eloquence bend to the monstrous idea 
of a son of God, begotten by a ghost on the body of a 
virgin, there is no imposition we are not justified in 
suspecting them of. Every phrase and circumstance 
are marked with the barbarous hand of superstitious 
torture, and forced into meanings it was impossible 
they could have. The head of every chapter, and the 
top of every page, are blazoned with the names of 
Christ and the Church, that the unwary reader might 
suck in the error before he began to read. 

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son" 
(Isaiah vii, 14), has been interpreted to mean the per- 
son called Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary, and has 
been echoed through Christendom for more than a 
thousand years ; and such has been the rage of this 
opinion that scarcely a spot in it but has been stained 
with blood and marked with desolation in consequence 
of it. Though it is not my intention to enter into 
controversy on subjects of this kind, but to confine 
myself to show that the Bible is spurious, and thus, by 
taking away the foundation, to overthrow at once the 
whole structure of superstition raised thereon, I will, 
however, stop a moment to expose the fallacious appli- 
cation of this passage. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 147 

Whether Isaiah was playing a trick with Ahaz, king 
of Judah, to whom this passage is spoken, is no busi- 
ness of mine ; I mean only to show the misapplication 
of the passage, and that it has no more reference to 
Christ and his mother than it has to me and my 
mother. The story is simply this : 

The king of Syria and the king of Israel (I have 
already mentioned that the Jews were split into two 
nations, one of which was called Judah, the capital of 
which was Jerusalem, and the other Israel) made war 
jointly against Ahaz, king of Judah, and marched their 
armies towards Jerusalem. Ahaz and his people be- 
came alarmed, and the account says (Isa. vii, 2), "His 
heart was moved, and the hearts of his people, as the 
trees of the wood are moved with the wind." 

In this situation of things, Isaiah addresses himself 
to Ahaz, and assures him in the name of the Lord (the 
cant phrase of all the prophets) that these two kings 
should not succeed against him ; and, to satisfy Ahaz 
that this should be the case, tells him to ask a sign. 
This, the account says, Ahaz declined doing; giving as 
a reason that he would not tempt the Lord; upon 
which Isaiah, who" is the speaker, says (verse 14), 
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign ; 
Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son ;" and the 
sixteenth verse says, "And before the child shall know 
to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land which 
thou abhorrest (or dreadest, meaning Syria and the 
kingdom of Israel) shall be forsaken of both her 
kings." Here then was the sign, and the time limited 
for the completion of the assurance or promise ; name- 
ly, before this child should know to refuse the evil and 
choose the good. 



148 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Isaiah having committeed himself thus far, it be- 
came necessary to him, in order to avoid the impiita- 
tation of being a false prophet, and the consequence 
thereof, to take measures to make this sign appear. It 
certainly was not a difficult thing, in any time of the 
world, to find a girl with child, or to m.ake her so; for 
I do not suppose that the prophets of that day were 
any more to be trusted than the priests of this ; be that, 
however, as it may, he says in the next chapter (verse 
2), "And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, 
Uriah the priest, and Zachariah the son of Jeberechiah, 
and I went unto the prophetess, and she conceived 
and bare a son." 

Here then is the whole story, foolish as it is, of this 
child and this virgin ; and it is upon the barefaced per- 
version of this story that the book of Matthew, and the 
impudence and. sordid interests of priests in later 
times, have founded a theory which they called the, 
gospel, and have applied this story to signify the per- 
son they call Jesus Christ; begotten, they say, by a 
ghost, whom they call holy, on the body of a woman, 
engaged in marriage, and afterwards married, whom 
they call a virgin, seven hundred years after this fool- 
ish story was told ; a theory which, speaking for my- 
self, I hesitate not to believe and to say, is as fabulous 
and as false as God is true. 

In Isaiah vii, 14, it is said that the child should be 
called Immanuel ; but this name was not given to 
either of the children, otherwise than as a character 
which the word signifies. That of the prophetess was 
called Maher-shalal-hash-baz, and that of Mary was 
called Jesus. 

But to show the imposition and falsehood of Isaiah 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 149 

we have only to attend to the sequel of this story, 
which, though it is passed over in silence in the book 
of Isaiah, is related in 2 Chronicles xxviii, and which is 
that instead of these two kings failing in their attempt 
against Ahaz, king of Judah, as Isaiah had pretended 
to foretell in the name of the Lord, they succeeded; 
Ahaz was defeated and destroyed; a hundred and 
twenty thousand of his people were slaughtered ; Jeru- 
salem was plundered, and two hundred thousand 
women and sons and daughters carried into captivity. 
Thus much for this lying prophet and impostor, Isaiah, 
and the book of falsehoods that bears his name. I 
pass on to the book of 

Jeremiah. This prophet, as he is called, lived in 
the time that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, in 
the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah ; and the 
suspicion was strong against him that he was a traitor 
in the interest of Nebuchadnezzar. Everything relat- 
ing to Jeremiah shows him to have been a man of an 
equivocal character ; in his metaphor of the potter and 
the clay (chapter xviii) he guards his prognostications 
in such a crafty manner as always to leave himself a 
door to escape by in case the event should be contrary 
to what he had predicted. 

In the seventh and eighth verses of that chapter, he 
makes the man God to say, "At what instant I shall 
speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, 
to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it : if that 
nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from 
their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do 
unto them." Here is a proviso against one side of the 
case; now for the other side. 

Verses 9 and 10, "At what instant I shall speak con- 



150 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

cerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build 
and to plant it, if it do evil in my sight, that it obey 
not my voice : then I will repent of the good wherewith 
I said I would benefit them." Here is a proviso against 
the other side; and, according to this plan of prophe- 
sying, a prophet could never be wrong, hov/ever mis- 
taken the man God might be. This sort of absurd sub- 
terfuge, and this manner of speaking of the man God 
as one would speak of any other person is consistent 
with nothing but the stupidity of the Bible. 

As to the authenticity of the book, it is only neces- 
sary to read it in order to decide positively that, 
though some passages recorded therein may have 
been spoken by Jeremiah, he is not the author of the 
book. The historical parts, if they can be called by 
that name, are in the most confused condition ; the 
same events are several times repeated, and that in a 
manner different, and sometimes in contradiction to- 
each other; and this disorder runs even to the last 
chapter, where the history, upon which the greater 
part of the book has been employed, begins anew, and 
ends abruptly. The book has all the appearance of 
being a medley of unconnected anecdotes, respecting 
persons and things of that time, collected together in 
the same rude manner as if the various and contradic- 
tory accounts that are to be found in a bundle of news 
papers respecting persons and things of the present 
day, were put togteher without date, order, or expla- 
nation. I will give two or three examples of this kind. 

It appears from the account of chapter xxxvii, that 
the army of Nebuchadnezzar, which is called the army 
of the Chaldeans, had besieged Jerusalem some time; 
and on their hearing that the army of Pharaoh of 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 151 

Egypt was marching against them they raised the 
siege, and retreated for a time. It may here be proper 
to mention, in order to understand this confused liis- 
tory, that Nebuchadnezzar had besieged and taken 
Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoiakim, the prede- 
cessor of Zedekiah ; and that it was Nebuchadnezzar 
who had made Zedekiah king, or rather viceroy; and 
that this second siege, of which the book of Jeremiah 
treats, was in consequence of the revolt of Zedekiah 
against Nebuchadnezzar. This will in some measure 
account for the suspicion that affixes itself to Jere- 
miah of being a traitor, and in the interest of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, whom Jeremiah calls (xliii, 10) the serv- 
ant of God. 

Chapter xxxvii (11-13) says, "And it came to pass, 
that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up 
from Jerusalem, for fear of Pharoah's army, then Jere- 
miah went forth out of Jerusalem, to go (as this ac- 
count states) into the land of Benjamin, to separate 
himself thence in the midst of the people ; and when he 
was in the gate of Benjamin a captain of the ward was 
there, whose name was Irijah ; and he took Jeremiah 
the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chal- 
deans; then said Jeremiah, It is false, I fall not away 
to the Chaldeans." Jeremiah, being thus stopped and 
accused, was after being examined, committed to pris- 
on on suspicion of being a traitor, where he remained, 
as is stated in the last verse of this chapter. 

But the next chapter gives an account of the im- 
prisonment of Jeremiah, which has no connection 
with this account, but ascribes his imprisonment to an- 
other circumstance, and for which we must go back 
to the twenty-first chapter. It is there stated (verse 1) 



152 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

that Zedekiah sent Pashur, the son of Malchiah, and 
Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, to Jeremiah 
to inquire of liim concerning Nebuchadnezzar, whose 
army was then before Jerusalem ; and Jeremiah said 
to them (verse 8), "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set 
before you the way of life, and the way of death ; he 
that abideth in the city shall die by the sword, and by 
the famine, and by the pestilence ; but he that goeth 
out and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he 
shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey." 

This interview and conference breaks off abruptly at 
the end of chapter xxi, 10; and such is the disorder of 
this book that we have to pass over sixteen chapters, 
upon various subjects, in order to come at the contin- 
uation and event of this conference ; and this brings us 
to the first verse of chapter xxxviii, as I have just men- 
tioned. 

Chapter xxxviii opens with saying, "Then Shepha-- 
tiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pa- 
shur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the 
son of Malachiah (here are more persons mentioned 
than in chapter xxi), heard the words that Jeremiah 
spoke unto the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, 
He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, 
by the famine, and by the pestilence ; but he that goeth 
forth to the Chaldeans shall live ; for he shall have his 
life for a prey, and shall live (which are the words of 
the conference) ; therefore (say they to Zedekiah) we 
beseech thee, let this man be put to death, for thus he 
weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in 
this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking 
such words unto them; for this man seeketh not the 
welfare of the people, but the hurt f and at the sixth 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 153 

verse it is said, ''Then they took Jeremiah, and cast 
him into the dungeon of Malchiah." 

These two accounts are different and contradictory. 
The one ascribes his imprisonment to his attempt to 
escape out of the city; the other to his preaching and 
prophesying in the city; the one to his being seized 
by the guard at the gate ; the other to his being ac- 
cused before Zedekiah by the conferees. 

As chapters xxxvii and xxxviii of the book of Jere- 
miah contradict each other with respect to the cause 
of Jeremiah's imprisonment, I observe two chapters 
(xvi and xvii) in the first book of Samuel that contra- 
dict each other with respect to David and the manner 
he became acquainted with Saul. 

In 1 Samuel xvi it is said that an evil spirit of God 
troubled Saul, and that his servants advised him (as a 
remedy) *'to seek out a man who was a cunning player 
upon the harp." And Saul said (verse 17), "Provide 
me now a man that can play well, and bring him to 
me." Then answered one of the servants, and said, 
Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, 
that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, 
and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a come- 
ly person, and the Lord is with him. Whereupon Saul 
sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David 
thy son. And (verse 21) David came to Saul, and 
stood before him, and he loved him greatly, and he 
became his armor-bearer; and . . . when the evil spirit 
from God was upon Saul (verse 23) David took his 
harp, and played with his hand, so Saul was refreshed, 
and was well." 

But the next chapter (xvii) gives an account, all 
different to this, of the manner that Saul and David 



154 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

became acquainted. Here it is ascribed to David's en- 
counter with Goliah, when David was sent by his 
father to carry provision to his brethren in the camp. 
In the fifty-fifth verse of this chapter it is said, ''And 
when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine 
(Goliah) he said to Abner, the captain of the host, 
Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As 
thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king 
said. Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as 
David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, 
Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with 
the head of the Philistine in his. hand; and Saul said 
unto him, Whose son art thou, thou young, man? And 
David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse 
the Bethlehemite." These two accounts belie each 
other, because each of them supposes Saul and David 
not to have known each other before. This book, the 
Bible, is too ridiculous for criticism. 

In the next chapter (xxxix) we have another in- 
stance of the disordered state of this book: for not- 
withstanding the siege of the city by Nebuchadnezzar 
has been the subject of several of the preceding chap- 
ters, particularly xxxvii and xxxviii, chapter xxxix 
begins as if not a v/ord had been said upon the sub- 
ject, and as if the reader was still to be informed of 
every particular respecting it ; for it begins with say- 
ing, "In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in 
the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Baby- 
lon, and all his army, against Jerusalem, and besieged 
it," etc.-. 

But the instance in the last chapter (Hi) is still more 
glaring; for though the story has been told over and 
over again, this chapter still supposes the reader not to 



FACTS^ TEUTHS AND REASONS. 155 

know anything of it, for it begins by saying (1-4), 
"Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he be- 
gan to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 
And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of 
Jeremiah of Libnah. And it came to pass in the ninth 
year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day 
of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon 
came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and 
pitched against it, and built forts against it," etc. 

It is not possible that any one man, and more partic- 
ularly Jeremiah, could have been the writer of this 
book. The errors are such as could not have been 
committed by any person sitting down to compose a 
work. Were I, or any other person to write in such 
a disordered manner, nobody would read what was 
written ; and everybody would suppose that the writer 
was in a state of insanity. The only way, therefore, 
to account for the disorder is that the book is a medley 
of detached unauthenticated anecdotes, put together 
by some stupid book-maker under the name of Jere- 
miah, because many of them refer to him and to the 
circumstances of the times he lived in. 

Of the duplicity and of the false predictions of Jere- 
miah, I shall mention two instances, and then proceed 
to review the remainder of the Bible. 

It appears from chapter xxxviii that when Jeremiah 
was in prison, Zedekiah sent for him, and at this inter- 
view, which was private, Jeremiah pressed it strongly 
on Zedekiah to surrender himself to the enemy. "If," 
says he (verse 17), "thou wilt assuredly go forth unto 
the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall 
live," etc. Zedekiah was apprehensive that what 
passed at this conference should be known; and he 



156 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

said to Jeremiah (verse 25), ''If the princes (meaning 
those of Judah) hear that I have talked with thee, and 
they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto 
us now what thou hast said unto the king; hide it not 
from us and we will not put thee to death ; also what 
the king said unto thee; then thou shalt say unto 
them, I presented my supplication before the king; 
that he would not Cause me to return to Jonathan's 
house, to die there. Then came all the princes unto 
Jeremiah, and asked him, and he told them according 
to all these v^ords that the king had commanded." 
Thus this man of God, as he is called, could tell a lie, 
or very strongly prevaricate, when he supposed it 
would answer his purpose; for certainly he did not 
go to Zedekiah to make his supplication, neither did 
he make it; he went because he was sent for, and he 
employed that opportunity to advise Zedekiah to sur- 
render himself to Nebuchadnezzar. 

In chapter xxxiv, 2-5, is a prophecy of Jeremiah to 
Zedekiah, in these words : ''Thus saith the Lord, Be- 
hold, I will give this city into the hand of the king 
of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire; and thou 
shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be 
taken, and .delivered into his hand ; and thine eyes 
shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he 
shall speak to thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go 
to Babylon. Yet hear the v^^ord of the Lord, O Zede- 
kiah king of Judah : Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt 
not die by the sword ; but thou shalt die in peace ; and 
with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings 
which were before thee, so shall they burn odors for 
thee ; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah Lord ! for 
I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord." 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 157 

Now, instead of Zedekiah beholding the eyes of the 
king of Babylon, and speaking with him mouth to 
mouth, and dying in peace, with the burning of odors, 
as at the funeral of his fathers (as Jeremiah had de- 
clared the Lord himself had pronounced), the reverse, 
according to chapter Hi, was the case ; it is there said 
(verse 10), "And the king of Babylon slew the sons of 
Zedekiah before his eyes ; then he put out the eyes of 
Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and carried him to 
Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his 
death." What then can we say of these prophets but 
that they are imposters and liars? 

As for Jeremiah, he experienced none of those evils. 
He was taken into favor by Nebuchadnezzar, who 
gave him in charge to the captain of the guard (xxxix, 
12). ''Take him (said he) and look well to him, and do 
him no harm ; but do unto him even as he shall say 
unto thee." Jeremiah joined himself afterwards to 
Nebuchadnezzar, and went about prophesying for him 
against the Egyptians, who had marched to the relief 
of Jerusalem while it was besieged. Thus much for 
another of the lying prophets, and the book that bears 
his name. 

I have been the more particular in treating of the 
books ascribed to Isaiah and Jeremiah, because those 
two are spoken of in the books of Kings and Chronicles, 
whilst the others are not. The remainder of the books 
called prophets I shall not trouble myself much about, 
but take them collectively into the observations I shall 
offer on the character of the men styled prophets. 

In the former part of The Age of Reason I have said 
that the word prophet was the Bible word for poet, and 
that the flights and metaphors of the Jewish poets have 



158 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

been foolishly erected into what are now called proph- 
ecies. I am sufficiently justified in this opinion, not 
only because the books called the prophecies are writ- 
ten in poetical language, but because there is no word 
in the Bible, except it be the word prophet, that de- 
scribes what we mean by a poet. I have also said that 
the word signifies a performer upon musical instru- 
ments, of which I have given some instances ; such as 
that of a company of prophets prophesying with psal- 
teries, with tabarets, with pipes, with harps, etc., and 
that Saul prophesied with them (1 Samuel x, 5). It 
appears from this passage, and from other parts in the 
book of Samuel, that the word prophet was confined to 
signify poetry and music ; for the person who was sup- 
posed to have a visionary insight into concealed 
things, was not a prophet, but a seer (1 Samuel ix, 9) ; 
and it was not till after the word seer went out of use 
(which most probably was when Saul banished those 
he called wizards) that the profession of the seer, or 
the art of seeing, became incorporated into the word 
prophet. I know not what is the Hebrew word that 
corresponds to the word seer in English ; but I observe 
it is translated into French by Le Voyant, from the 
verb voir, to see, and which means the person who 
sees, or the seer. 

According to the modern meaning of the word 
prophet and prophesying, it signifies foretelling events 
to a great distance of time ; and it became necessary 
to the inventors of the gospel to give it this latitude of 
meaning, in order to apply or to stretch what they call 
the prophecies of the Old Testament to the times of 
the New ; but according to the Old Testament, the 
prophesying of the seer, and afterwards of the proph- 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 159 

ets, so far as the meaning of the word seer was incor- 
porated into that of prophet, had reference only to 
things of the time then passing, or very closely con- 
nected "with it; such as the event of a battle they were 
going to engage in, or of a journey, or of any enter- 
prise they were going to undertake, or of any circum- 
stance then pending, or of any difficulty they were then 
in ; all of which had immediate reference to themselves 
(as in the case already mentioned of Ahaz and Isaiah 
with respect to the expression. Behold a virgin shall 
conceive and bear a son), and not to any distant future 
time. It was that kind of prophesying that corresponds 
to what we call fortune-telling; such as casting nativi- 
ties, predicting riches, fortunate or unfortunate mar- 
riages, conjuring for lost goods, etc., and it is the fraud 
of the Christian church, 'not that of the Jews; and the 
ignorance and the superstition of modern, not that of 
ancient times, that elevated those poetical, musical, 
conjuring, dreaming, strolling gentry into the rank 
they have since had. 

But, besides this general character of all the proph- 
ets, they had also a particular character. They were in 
parties, and they prophesied for or against, according 
to the party they were with ; as the poetical and politi- 
cal writers of the present day write in defense of the 
party they associate with against the other. 

After the Jews were divided into two nations, that of 
Judah and that of Israel, each party had its prophets, 
who abused and accused each other of being false 
prophets, lying prophets, impostors, etc. 

The prophets of the party of Judah prophesied 
against the prophets of the party of Israel, and those 
of the party of Israel against those of Judah. This 



160 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

party prophesying showed itself immediately on the 
separation under the first two rival kings, Rehoboam 
and Jeroboam. The prophet that cursed or prophesied 
against the altar that Jeroboam had built in Bethel was 
of the party of Judah, where Rehoboam was king; and 
he was waylaid, on his return home, by a prophet of the 
party of Israel, who said unto him (1 Kings xiii, 14), 
"Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? 
and he said, I am." Then the prophet of the party of 
Israel said unto him (verse 18), "I am a prophet also, 
as thou art (signifying of Judah) ; and an angel spake 
unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him 
back with thee unto thine house, that he may eat 
bread and drink water. But he lied unto him." The 
event, however, according to the story, is that the 
prophet of Judah never got back to Judah, for he was 
found dead on the road, by the contrivance of the 
prophet of Israel, who, no doubt, was called a true 
prophet by his own party, and the prophet of Judah 
a lying prophet. 

In 2 Kings iii, a story is related of prophesying, or 
conjuring, that shows, in several particulars, the char- 
acter of a prophet. Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and 
Joram king of Israel, had for a while ceased their party 
animosity, and entered into an alliance ; and these two, 
together with the king of Edom, engaged in a war 
against the king of Moab. After uniting and marching 
their armies, the story says, they were in great distress 
for water, upon which Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not 
here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the 
Lord by him? and one of the servants of the king of 
Israel said, Here is Elisha." (Elisha was of the party 
of Judah.) ''And Jehoshaphat (the king of Judah) 



FACTS, TRUTHS. AI^D REASONS. 161 

said, The word of the Lord is with him." The story 
then says that these three kings went down to Elisha; 
and when Elisha (who, as I have said, was a Judahmite 
prophet) saw the king of Israel, he said unto him, 
"What have I to do with thee? get thee to the proph- 
ets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. 
And the king of Israel said unto him. Nay, for the Lord 
hath called these three kings together, to deliver them 
into the hand of Moab" (meaning because of the dis- 
tress they were in for water) ; upon which Elisha said, 
"As the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand, 
surely were it not that I regard the presence of Je- 
hoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, 
nor see thee." Here is all the venom and vulgarity 
of a party prophet. We have now to see the per- 
formance, or manner, of prophesying. 

Verse 15: "Bring me," said Elisha, "a minstrel; 
and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the 
hand of the lord came upon him." Here is the farce 
of the conjuror. Now for the prophecy : "And EHsha 
said (singing most probably to the tune he was play- 
ing). Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of 
ditches ;" which was just telling them what every coun- 
tryman could have told them without either fiddle or 
farce, that the way tO get water was to dig for it. 

But as every conjuror is not famous alike for the 
same thing, so neither were those prophets ; for though 
all of them, at least those I have spoken of, were fa- 
mous for lying, some of them excelled in cursing. 
Elisha, whom I have just mentioned, was a chief in this 
branch of prophesying; it was he that cursed the 
forty-two children, in the name of the Lord, whom 
the two she-bears came and devoured. We are to sup- 



162 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

pose that those children were of the party of Israel ; but 
as those who will curse will lie, there is just as much 
credit to be given to this story of Elisha's two she-bears 
as there is to that of the Dragon of Wantley, of whom 
it is said: 

Poor children three devoured he, 

That could not with him grapple ; 
And at one sup he ate them up, 
As a man would eat an apple. 

There was another description of men called proph- 
ets, that amused themselves with dreams and visions; 
but whether by night or by day, we know not. These, 
if they were not quite harmless, were but little mis- 
chievous. Of this class are: 

Ezekiel and Daniel ; and the first question upon those 
books, as upon all the others, is. Are they genuine? 
That is, were they written by Ezekiel and Daniel? 

Of this there is no proof; but so far as my own opin- 
ion goes, I am more inclined to believe they were than 
that'they were not. My reasons for this opinion are as 
follows : 

First, because those books do not contain internal 
evidence to prove they were not written by Ezekiel and 
Daniel, as the books ascribed to Moses, Joshua, Sam- 
uel, etc., etc., prove that they were not written by 
Moses, Joshua, Samuel, etc. 

Secondly, because they were not written till after the 
Babylonish captivity began ; and there is good reason 
to believe that not any book in the Bible was written 
before that period; at least it is proveable from the 
books themselves, as I have already shown, that they 
were not written till after the commencement of the 
Jewish monarchy. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 163 

Thirdly, because the manner in which the books 
ascribed to Ezekiel and Daniel are written agrees with 
the condition these men were in at the time of writing 
them. 

Had the numerous commentators and priests who 
have foolishly employed or wasted their time in pre- 
tending to expound and unriddle those books been car- 
ried into captivity, as Ezekiel and Daniel were, it 
would greatly have improved their intellects in com- 
prehending the reason for this mode of writing, and 
have saved them the trouble of racking their invention, 
as they have done, to no purpose ; for they would have 
found that themselves would be obliged to write what- 
ever they had to write, respecting their own afifairs, 
or those of their friends, or of their country, in a con- 
cealed manner, as those men have done. 

These two books differ from all the rest ; for it is 
only these that are filled with accounts of dreams and 
visions ; and this difference arose from the situation the 
writers were in as prisoners of war, or prisoners of 
state, in a foreign country, which obliged them to con- 
vey even the most trifling information to each other, 
and all their political projects or opinions, in obscure 
and metaphorical terms. They pretend to have dream- 
ed dreams, and seen visions, because it was unsafe for 
them to speak facts or plain language. We ought, 
however, to suppose that the persons to whom they 
wrote understood what they meant, and that it was not 
intended anybody else should. But these busy com- 
mentators and priests have been puzzling their wits to 
find out what it was not intended they should know, 
and with which they have nothing to do. 

Ezekiel and Daniel were carried prisoners to Baby- 



164 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Ion, under the first captivity, in the time of Jehoiakim, 
nine years before the second captivity, in the 
time of Zedekiah. The Jews were then still num- 
erous, and had considerable force at Jerusalem ; and as 
it is natural to suppose that men in the situation of 
Ezekiel and Daniel would be meditating the recovery 
of their country and their own deliverance, it is reason- 
able to suppose that the accounts of dreams and vis- 
ions with which these books are filled are no other 
than a disguised mode of correspondence to facilitate 
those objects; it served them as a cipher or secret al- 
phabet. If they are not this, they are tales, reveries, 
and nonsense; or, at least, a fanciful way of wearing 
ofif the wearisomeness of captivity; but the presump- 
tion is, they are the former. 

Ezekiel begins his book by speaking of a vision of 
cherubims and of a wheel within a wheel, which he 
says he saw by the river Chebar in the land of his cap- 
tivity. Is it not reasonable to suppose that by the 
cherubims he meant the temple at Jerusalem, where 
they had figures of cherubims? and by a wheel within a 
wheel (which, as a figure, has always been understood 
to signify political contrivance) the project or means 
of recovering Jerusalem? In the latter part of this 
book he supposes himself transported to Jerusalem, 
and into the temple; and he refers back to the vision 
on the river Chebar, and says (xliii, 3) that this last 
vision was like the vision on the river Chebar, which 
indicates that those pretended dreams and visions had 
for their object the recovery of Jerusalem, and nothing- 
further. 

As to the romantic interpretations and applications, 
wild as the dreams and visions they undertake to ex- 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 165 

plain, which commentators and priests have made of 
those books, that of converting them into things which 
they call prophecies, and making them bend to times 
and circumstances as far remote even as the present 
day, it shows the fraud or the extreme folly to which 
credulity or priestcraft can go. 

Scarcely anything can be more* absurd than .to sup- 
pose that men situated as Ezekiel and Daniel were, 
whose country was overrun and in the possession of 
the enemy, all their friends and relations in captivity 
abroad, or in slavery at home, or massacred, or in 
continual danger of it; scarcely anything, I say, can 
be more absurd than to suppose that such men should 
find nothing to do but that of employing their time and 
their thoughts about what was to happen to other na- 
tions a thousand or two thousand years after they 
were dead; at the same time, nothing is more natural 
than that they should meditate the recovery of Jerusa- 
lem and their own deliverance; and that this was the 
sole object of all the obscure and apparently frantic 
writings contained in those books. 

In this sense, the mode of writing used in those two 
books being forced by necessity, and not adopted by 
choice, is not irrational; but, if we are to view the 
books as prophecies, they are false. In Ezekiel xxix, 11, 
speaking of Egypt, it is said, "No foot of mankind 
shall pass through it, nor - foot of beast shall pass 
through it; neither shall it be inhabited forty years." 
This is what never came to pass, and consequently 
it is false, as all the books I have already reviewed are. 
I here close this part of the subject. 

In the former part of The Age of Reason I have 
spoken of Jonah, and of the story of him and the whale 



166 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION, 

— a fit story for ridicule if it was written to be be- 
lieved; or for laughter if it was intended to try what 
credulity could swallovv^ ; for, if it could swallow Jonah 
and the whale, it could swallow anything. 

But as is already shown in the observations on the 
book of Job and of Proverbs, it is not alwaj^s certain 
which of the books in'the Bible are originally Hebrew, 
or only translations from books of the Gentiles into 
Hebrew ; and as the book of Jonah, so far from treating 
of the affairs of the Jews, says nothing upon that sub- 
ject, but treats altogether of the Gentiles, it is more 
probable that it is a book of the Gentiles than of the 
Jews ; and that it -has been written as a fable, to expose 
the nonsense and satirize the vicious and malignant 
character of a Bible prophet or a predicting priest. 

Jonah is represented, first, as a disobedient prophet, 
running away from his • mission, and taking shelter 
aboard a vessel of the Gentiles, bound from Joppa to 
Tarshish ; as if he ignorantly supposed, by such a 
paltry contrivance, he could hide himself where God 
could not find him. The vessel is overtaken by a storm 
at sea; and the mariners, all of whom are Gen-tiles, 
believing it to be a judgment on account of some one 
on board who had committed a crime, agreed to cast 
lots to discover the offender; and the lot fell upon 
Jonah. But, before this, they had cast all their wares 
and merchandise overboard to lighten the vessel, while 
Jonah, like a stupid fellow, was fast asleep in the hull. 

After the lot had designated Jonah to be the offender, 
they questioned him to know who and what he was, 
and he told them he was a Hebrew; and the story 
implies that he confessed himself to be guilty. But 
these Gentiles, instead of sacrificing him at once, with- 



PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 167 

out pity or mercy, as a company of Bible prophets or 
priests would have done by a Gentile in the same case, 
and as it is related Samuel had done by Agag, and 
Moses by the women and children, they endeavored to 
save him, though at the risk of their own lives ; for the 
account says : ''Nevertheless (that is, though Jonah 
was a Jew and a foreigner, and the cause of all their 
misfortunes, and the loss of their cargo) the men rowed 
hard to bring it (the boat) to land, but they could not, 
for the sea wrought and was tempestuous against 
them." Still, however, they were unwilling to put the 
fate of the lot into execution ; and they cried (says the 
account) unto the Lord, saying: '*We beseech thee, O 
Lord, we bessech thee, let us not perish for this man's 
life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for thou, O 
Lord, hast done as it pleased thee." Meaning thereby 
that they did not presume to judge Jonah guilty, since 
he might be innocent ; but that they considered the lot 
that had fallen upon him as a decree of God, or as it 
pleased God. The address of this prayer shows that 
the Gentiles worshiped a God, and that they were not 
idolaters, as the Jews represented them to be. But 
the storm still continuing, and the danger increasing, 
they put the fate of the lot into execution, and cast 
Jonah into the sea, where, according to the story, a 
great fish swallowed him up whole and alive. 

We have now to consider Jonah securely housed 
from the storm in the fish's belly. Here we are told 
that he prayed; but the prayer is a made-up prayer, 
taken from various parts of the Psalms, without con- 
nection or consistency, and adapted to the distress, but 
not at all to the condition, that Jonah was in. It is 
such a prayer as a Gentile, who might know something 



153 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

of the Psalms, could copy out for him. This circum- 
stance alone, were there no other, is sufficient to indi- 
cate that the whole is a made-up story. The prayer, 
however, is supposed to have answered the purpose, 
and the story goes on (taking off at the same time the 
cant language of a Bible prophet), saying: *'The man 
God spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on 
dry land." 

Jonah then received a second mission to Nineveh, 
with which he sets out ; and we have now to consider 
him as a preacher. The distress he is represented to 
have suffered, the remembrance of his own diso- 
bedience as the cause of it, and the miraculous escape 
he is supposed to have had, were sufficient, one would 
conceive, to have impressed him with sympathy and 
benevolence in the execution of his mission ; but, in- 
stead of this, he enters the city with denunciation and 
malediction in his mouth, crying: "Yet forty days, and- 
Nineveh shall be overthrown." 

We have now to consider this supposed missionary 
in the last act of his mission; and here it is that the 
malevolent spirit of a Bible-prophet, or of a predicting 
priest, appears in all that blackness of character that 
people ascribe to the beings they call the devils. 

Having published prophetic predictions, Jonah with- 
drew, says the story, to the east side of the city. But 
for what? Not to contemplate, in retirement, the 
mercy of God to himself or to others, but to wait, with 
malignant impatience, the destruction of Nineveh. It 
came to pass, however, as the story relates, that the 
Ninevites reformed, and that man God, according to 
the Bible phrase, repented of the evil God had said 
would be done unto them, and did it not. This, saith 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 169 

the first verse of the last chapter, displeased Jonah ex- 
ceedingly, and Jonah was very angry. Jonah's ob- 
durate heart would rather that all Nineveh should be 
destroyed, and every soul, young and old perish in its 
ruins than that Jonah's prediction should not be ful- 
filled. To express the character of a prophet still more, 
a gourd is made to grow up in the night, that promises 
Jonah an agreeable shelter from the heat and the sun, 
in the place to which Jonah retired; and the next 
night it dies. 

Here the rage of the prophet becomes excessive, and 
Jonah is ready to destroy himself. "It is better (said 
Jonah) for me to die than to live." This brings on a 
supposed expostulation between the man God and the 
prophet, in which the former says, *'Doest thou well 
to be angry for the gourd? And Jonah said, I do well 
to be angry even unto death. Then said the man God, 
Thou has had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast 
not labored, neither madest it to grow, which came up 
in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I 
spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than 
sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between 
their right hand and their left hand?" 

Here is both the winding up of the satire, and the 
moral of the fable. As a satire, it strikes against the 
character of all the Bible prophets, and against all the 
indiscriminate judgments upon men, women, and chil- 
dren with which this lying book, the Bible, is crowded; 
such as Noah's flood, the destruction of the cities of 
Sodom and Gomorrah, the extirpation of the Canaan- 
ites, even to suckling infants and women with child, 
because the same reflection, that there "are more than 
sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between 



170 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

their right hand and their left hand," meaning young 
children, applies to all their cases. It satirizes also the 
supposed partiality of the man God for one nation more 
than for another. 

As a moral, it preaches against the malevolent spirit 
of prediction ; for as certainly as people predict ill, they 
become inclined to wish it. The pride of having their 
judgment right hardens their hearts, till at last they 
behold with satisfaction, or see with disappointment, 
the accomplishment or the failure of their predictions. 
This book ends with the same kind of strong and well- 
directed point against prophets, prophecies, and indis- 
criminate judgments, as the chapter that Benjamin 
Franklin made for the Bible, about Abraham and the 
stranger, ends against the intolerant spirit of religious 
persecutions. Thus much for the book of Jonah. 

Of the poetical parts of the Bible, that are called 
prophecies, I have spoken in the former part of The 
Age of Reason, and already in this, where I have said 
that the word prophet is the Bible word for poet, and 
that the flights and metaphors of those poets, many of 
which have become obscure by the lapse of time and 
the change of circumstances, have been ridiculously 
erected into things called prophecies, and applied to 
purposes the writers never thought of. When priests 
and preachers quote any of those passages, they 
unriddle it agreeably to their own views, and impose 
that explanation upon their congregations as the mean- 
ing of the writer. The "whore of Babylon" has been 
the common whore of all the priests, and each has ac- 
cused the other of keeping the strumpet; so well do 
they agree in their explanations. 

There now remain only a few books, which they call 



FACTS, TRUTHS AXD REASONS. 171 

books of the lesser prophets; and as I have already 
shown that the greater are impostors, it would be 
cowardice to disturb the repose of the little ones. Let 
them sleep, then, in the arms of their nurses, the 
priests and preachers, both be forgotten together. 

I have now gone through the Bible, as a man would 
go through a wood with an axe on his shoulder, and 
falls trees. Here they lie ; and the priests and preach- 
ers, if they can, may replant them. They may, perhaps, 
stick them in the ground, but they will never make 
them grow. I pass on to the books of the New Testa- 
ment. 



The New Testament, they tell us, is founded upon 
the prophecies of the Old ; if so, it must follow the fate 
of its foundation. 

As it is nothing extraordinary that a woman should 
be with child before she is married, and that the son 
she might bring forth should be executed, even un- 
justly, I see no reason for not believing that such a 
woman as Mary, and such a man as Joseph, and Jesus, 
existed ; their mere existence is a matter of indifference 
about which there is no ground either to believe or to 
disbelieve, and which comes under the common head 
of, It may be so; and what then? The probability, 
however, is, that there were such persons, or at least 
such as resembled them in part of the circumstances, 
because almost all romantic stories have been suggest- 
ed by some actual circumstance ; as the adventures of 
Robinson Crusoe, not a word of which is true, were 
suggested by the case of Alexander Selkirk. 

It is not, then, the existence or non-existence of the 



172 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

persons that I trouble myself about; it is the fable of 
Jesus Christ, as told in the New Testament, and the 
wild and visionary doctrine raised thereon, against 
which I contend. The story, taking it as it is told, is 
blasphemously obscene. It gives an account of a young 
woman engaged to be married, and while under this 
engagement, she is, to speak plain language, debauched 
by a ghost, under the impious pretense (Luke i, 35) 
that ''the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the 
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." Not- 
withstanding which, Joseph afterwards marries her, 
cohabits with her as his wife, and in his turn rivals the 
ghost, which was a bull-necked amorist priest. This 
is putting the story into intelligible language, and, 
when told in this manner, there is not a priest but 
must be ashamed to own it. Mary, the supposed vir- 
gin mother of Jesus, had several other children, sons 
and daughters. See Matthew xiii, 55, 56. 

Obscenity in matters of faith, however wrapped up, 
is always a token of fable and imposture ; for it is neces- 
sary to our serious belief in God that we do not con- 
nect it with stories that run, as this does, into ludi- 
crous interpretations. This story is, upon the face of 
it, the same kind of story as that of Jupiter and Leda, 
or Jupiter and Europa, or any of the amorous adven- 
tures of Jupiter ; and shows, as is already stated in the 
former part of The Age of Reason, that the Christian 
faith is built upon the heathen mythology. 

As the historical parts of the New Testament, so far 
as concerns Jesus Christ, are confined to a very short 
space of time — less than two years — and all within the 
same country, and nearly the same spot, the discord- 
ance of time, place, and circumstance, which detects 



PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 173 

the fallacy of the books of the Old Testament, and 
proves them to be impositions, cannot be expected to 
be found here in the same abundance. The New Testa- 
ment, compared with the Old, is like a farce of one act, 
in which there is not room for very numerous viola- 
tions of the unities. There are, however, some glaring 
contradictions, which, exclusive of the fallacy of the 
pretended prophecies are sufficient to show the story 
of Jesus Christ to be false. 

I lay down as a position which cannot be contro- 
verted, first, that the agreement of all the parts of a 
story does not prove that story to be true, because the 
parts may agree, and the whole may be false ; secondly, 
that the disagreement of the parts of a story proves the 
whole cannot be true. The agreement does not prove 
truth, but the disagreement proves falsehood posi- 
tively. 

The history of Jesus Christ is contained in the four 
books ascribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 
The first chapter of Matthew begins with giving a 
genealogy of Jesus Christ ; and in the third chapter of 
Luke there is also given a genealogy of Jesus Christ. 
Did these two agree, it would not prove the genealogy 
to be true, because it might, nevertheless, be a fabrica- 
tion ; but as they contradict each other in every particu- 
lar, it proves falsehood absolutely. If Matthew speaks 
truth, Luke speaks falsehood ; and if Luke speaks truth 
Matthew speaks falsehood; and as there is no au- 
thority for believing one more than the other, there 
is no authority for believing either ; and if they cannot 
be believed even in the first thing they say, and set out 
to prove, they are not entitled to be believed in any- 
thing they say afterwards. Truth is a uniform thing; 



174 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

and as to inspiration and revelation, were we to admit 
it, it is impossible to suppose it can be contradictory. 
Either then the men called apostles were impostors, or 
the books ascribed to them have been written by other 
persons, and foisted upon them, as is the case with 
the Old Testament. 

The book of Matthew gives (i, 6) a genealogy by 
name from David, up through Joseph, the husband of 
Mary, to Christ; and makes there to be twenty-eight 
generations. The book of I^uke gives also a genealogy 
by name from Christ, through Joseph, the husband of 
Mary, down to David, and makes there to be forty- 
three generations; besides which there are only the 
two names of David and Joseph that are alike in the 
two lists, I here insert both genealogical lists, and for 
the sake of perspicuity and comparison, have placed 
them both in the same direction — that is, from Joseph 
down to David. 

Genealogy, according to Matthew. Genealogy, according to Luke, 
Christ Christ 

2 Joseph 2 Joseph 

3 Jacob 3 Heli 

4 Matthan 4 Matthat 

5 Eleazar 5 Levi 

6 Eliud 6 Melchi 

7 Achim 7 Janna 

8 Sadoc 8 Joseph 

9 Azor 9 Mattathias 

10 Eliakim 10 Amos 

11 Abiud 11 Naum 

12 Zorobabel 12 Esli 

13 Salathiel 13 Nagge 

14 Jechonias 14 Maath 



PACTS, TRUTHS AXD EEASONS. 



175 



Genealogy , according to Matthew. 

Christ. 

15 Josias 

16 Amon • 

17 Manasses 

18 Ezekias 

19 Achaz 

20 Joatham 

21 Ozias 

22 Joram 

23 Josaphat 

24 Asa 

25 Abia 

26 Roboam 

27 Solomon 

28 David* 



Genealogy, according to Luke. 

Christ. 

15 Mattathias 

16 Semei 

17 Joseph 

18 Juda 

19 Joanna 

20 Rhesa 

21 Zorobabel 

22 Salathiel 

23 Neri 

24 Melchi 

25 Addi 

26 Cosam 

27 Ehnodam 

28 Er 

29 Jose 

30 EHezer 

31 Jorim 

32 Matthat 
ZZ Levi 

34 Simeon 

35 Juda 

36 Joseph 
Z7 Jonan 

38 Eliakim 

39 Melea 

40 Menan 

41 Mattatha 

42 Nathan 

43 David 

*From the birth of David to the birth of Christ is 
upwards of 1080 years, and as the Hfetime of Christ 



176 THEi SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

not included, there are but 27 full generations. To 
find, therefore, the average age of each person men- 
tioned in the first list, at the time his first son was 
born, it is only necessary to divide 1080 by 27, which 
gives 40 years for each person. As the lifetime of 
people were then but of the same extent it is now, it 
is an absurdity to suppose that 27 following genera- 
tions should all be old bachelors and old maids before 
they married; and the more so, when we are told that 
Solomon, the next in succession to David, had a house 
full of wives and mistresses before he was twenty-one 
years of age. So far from this genealogy being a sol- 
emn truth, it is not even a reasonable lie. The list of 
Luke gives about twenty-six years for the average age, 
and that is too much. 

Now if these men, Matthew and Luke, set out with a 
falsehood between them (as these two accounts show 
they do) in the very commencement of their history of 
Jesus Christ, and of who, and of what he was, what 
authority (as I have before asked) is there left for be- 
lieving the strange things they tell us afterwards? If 
they cannot be believed in their account of his natural 
genealogy, how are we to believe them when they tell 
us he was the son of God, begotten by a ghost, and that 
an angel announced this in secret to his mother? If 
they lied in one genealogy, why are we to believe them 
in the other? If his natural genealogy be manufactur- 
ed, which it certainly is, why are we not to suppose 
that his celestial genealogy is manufactured also, and 
that the whole is fabulous? Can any man of serious 
reflection hazard his future happiness upon the belief 
of a story naturally impossible, repugnant to every idea 
of decency, and related by persons already detected of 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 177 

falsehood? Is it not more safe that we stop ourselves 
at the plain, pure, and unmixed belief of one Intelli- 
gence God than that we commit ourselves on an ocean 
of improbable, irrational, indecent, and contradictory 
tales? 

The first question, however, upon the books of the 
New Testament, as upon those of the Old, is, Are they 
genuine? Were they written by the persons to whom 
they are ascribed? for it is upon this ground only that 
the strange things related therein have been credited. 
Upon this point there is no direct proof for or against ; 
and all that this state of a case proves is doubtfulness ; 
and doubtfulness is the opposite of belief. The state, 
therefore, that the books are in, proves against them- 
selves, as far as this kind of proof can go. 

But exclusive of this the presumption is that the 
books called the Evangelists, and ascribed to Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John, were not written by Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John ; and that they are impositions. 

The disordered state of the history in these four 
books, the silence of one book upon matters related in 
the others, and the disagreement that is to be found 
among them, implies that they are the production of 
some unconnected individuals, many years after the 
things they pretend to relate, each of whom made their 
own legend; and not the writings of men living inti- 
mately together, as the men called apostles are sup- 
posed to have done ; in fine, that they have been manu- 
factured, as the books of the Old Testament have been, 
by other persons than those whose names they bear. 

The story of the angel announcing what the church 
calls the immaculate conception is not so much as men- 
tioned in the books ascribed to Mark and John ; and is 



[78 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

differently related iri Matthew and Luke. The former 
says the angel appeared to Joseph ; the latter says it 
was to Mary ; but either Joseph or Mary was the worst 
evidence that could have been thought of; for it was 
others that should have testified for them, and not they 
for themselves. Were any girl that is now with child 
to say, and even to swear it, that she was gotten with 
child by a ghost, and that an angel told her so, would 
she be believed? Certainly she would not. Why then 
are we to believe the same thing of another girl whom 
we never saw, told by nobody knows who, nor when, 
nor where? How strange and inconsistent is it that 
the same circumstance that would weaken the belief 
even of a probable story, should be given as a motive 
for believing this one, that has upon the face of it every 
token of absolute impossibility and imposture. 

The story of Herod destroying all the children under 
two years old belongs altogether to the book of Mat- 
thew ; not one of the rest mentions anything about it. 
Had such a circumstance been true, the universality of 
it must have made it known to all the writers; and 
the thing would have been too striking to have been 
omitted by any. This writer tells us that Jesus escaped 
this slaughter because Joseph and Mary were warned 
by an angel to flee with him into Egypt; but he forgot 
to make provision for John, who was then under two 
years of age. John, however, who stayed behind, fared 
as well as Jesus, who fled; and therefore, the story 
circumstantially belies itself. 

Not any two of these writers agree in reciting, ex- 
actly in the same words, the written inscription, short 
as it is, which they tell us was put over Christ when he 
was crucified ; and besides this, Mark says he was cruci- 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. . 179 

fied at the third hour (nine in the morning) ; and John 
says it was the sixth hour (twelve, at noon). 
The inscription is thus stated in those books : 

Matthew — This is Jesus the king of the Jews. 

Mark — The king of the Jews. 

Liike — This is the king of the Jews. 

John — Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews. 

We may infer from these circumstances, trivial as 
they are, that those writers, whoever they were, and in 
whatever time they lived, were not present at the 
scene. The only one of the men called apostles who 
appears to have been near the spot was Peter, and 
when he was accused of being one of Jesus' followers. 
It is said (Matthew xxvi, 74), ''Then began he (Peter) 
to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man !" 
yet we are now called to believe the same Peter, con- 
victed, by their own account, of perjury. For what 
reason, or on what authority, should we do this? 

The accounts that are given of the circumstances 
that they tell us attended the crucifixion are differently 
related in those four books. 

According to John, the sentence was not passed till 
about the sixth hour (noon), and consequently the exe- 
cution could not be till the afternoon ; but Mark says 
expressly that he was crucified at the third hour (nine 
in the morning). (Mark xv, 25; John xix, 14.) 

The book ascribed to Matthew say that there was 
darkness over all the land from the sixth hour unto the 
ninth hour; that the veil of the temple was rent in 
twain from the top to the bottom ; that there was an 
earthquake; that the rocks rent; that the graves open- 
ed; that the bodies of many of the saints that slept 



180 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

arose and came out of their graves after the resurrec- 
tion, and went into the holy city and appeared unto 
many. Such is the account which this dashing writer 
of the book of Matthew gives, but in which he is not 
supported by the writers of the other books. 

The writer of the book ascribed to Mark, in detailing 
the circumstances of the crucifixion, makes no mention 
of any earthquake, nor of the rocks rending, nor of the 
graves opening, nor of the dead people walking out. 
The writer of the book of Luke is silent also upon the 
same points. And as to the writer of the book of John, 
though he details all the circumstances of the cruci- 
fixion- down to the burial of Christ, he says nothing 
about either the darkness, the veil of the temple, the 
earthquake, the rocks, the graves, nor the dead people. 

Now if it had been true that those things had hap- 
pened, and if the writers of these books had lived at the 
time they did happen, and had been the persons they 
are said to be, namely, the four men called apostles, 
.Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it was not possible for 
them, as true historians, even without the aid of in- 
spiration, not to have recorded them. The things, sup- 
posing them to have been facts, were of too much 
notoriety not to have been known, and of too much 
importance not to have been told. All these supposed 
apostles must have been witnesses of the earthquake, 
if there had been any ; for it was not possible for them 
to have been absent from it ; the opening of the graves 
and resurrection of the dead, people, and their walking 
about the city, is of still greater importance than the 
earthquake. An earthquake is always possible, and 
natural, and proves nothing; but this opening of the 
graves is supernatural, and directly in point to their 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 181 

doctrine, their cause, and their apostleship. Had it been 
true, it would have filled up whole chapters of those 
books, and been the chosen theme and general chorus 
of all the writers ; but instead of this, little and trivial 
things, and mere prattling conversation of "He said 
this" and ''She said that" are often tediously detailed, 
while this most important of all, had it been true, is 
passed off in a slovenly manner by a single dash of the 
pen, and that by one writer only, and not so much as 
hinted at by the rest. 

It is an easy thing to tell a lie, but it is difTficult to 
support the lie after it is told. The writer of the book 
of Matthew should have told us who the saints were 
that came to life again, and went into the city, and 
what became of them afterwards, and who it was that 
saw them; for it is not hardy enough to say that the 
writer saw them ; whether they came out naked, and all 
in natural buff, he-saints and she-saints; or whether- 
they came full dressed, and where they got their dress- 
es ; whether they went to their former habitations, and 
reclaimed their wives, their husbands, and their prop- 
erty, and how they were received ; whether they enter- 
ed ejectments for the recovery of their possessions, or 
brought actions of crim. con against the rival inter- 
lopers ; whether they remained on earth and followed 
their former occupation of preaching or working; or 
whether they died again, or went back to their graves 
alive, and buried themselves. 

Strange indeed that an army of saints should return 
to life, and nobody know who they were, nor who it 
was that saw them, and that not a word more should 
be said upon the subject, nor these saints have any- 
thing to tell us! Had it been the prophets who (as 



182 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

we are told) had formerly prophesied of these things, 
they must have had a great deal to say. They could 
have told us everything, and we should have had pos- 
thumous prophecies, with notes and commentaries 
upon the first, a little better at least than we have now. 
Had it been Moses, and Aaron, and Joshua, and Sam- 
uel, and David, not an unconverted Jew had remained 
in all Jerusalem. Had it been John the Baptist, and the 
saints of the times then present, everybody would have 
known them, and they would have out-preached and 
out-famed all the other apostles. But, instead of this, 
these saints are made to pop up, like Jonah's gourd in 
the night, for no purpose at all but to wither in the 
morning. Thus much for this part of the story. 

The tale of the resurrection follows that of the cruci- 
fixion; and in this as well as in that, the writers, who- 
ever they were, disagree so much as to make it evident 
that none of them were there. 

The book of Matthew states that when Christ was 
put in the sepulchre, the Jews applied to Pilate for a 
watch or a guard to be placed over the sepulchre, to 
prevent the body being stolen by the disciples ; and 
that, in consequence of this request, the sepulchre was 
made sure, sealing the stone that covered the mouth, 
and setting a watch. But the other books say nothing 
about this application, nor about the sealing, nor the 
guard, nor the watch ; and according to their accounts, 
there were none. Matthew, however, follows up this 
part of the story of the guard or the watch with a sec- 
ond part, that I shall notice in the conclusion, as it 
serves to detect the fallacy of those books. 

The book of Matthew continues its account, and 
says (xxviii, 1) that at the end of the Sabbath, as it 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 133 

began to dawn towards the first day of the week, 
came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the 
sepulchre. Mark says it was sun-rising, and John says 
it was dark. Luke says it was Mary Magdalene, and 
Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other 
women, that came to the sepulchre; and John states 
that Mary Magdalene came along. So well do they 
agree about their first evidence ! They all, however, 
appear to have known most about Mary Magdalene ; 
she was a woman of large acquaintance, and it was not 
an ill conjecture that she might be upon the stroll. 

The book of Matthew goes on to say (verse 2), **And 
behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of 
the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled 
back the stone from the door, and sat upon it." But 
the other books say nothing about any earthquake, nor 
about the angel rolling back the stone and sitting upon 
it ; and, according to their accounts, there was no angel 
sitting there. Mark says the angel was within the 
sepulchre, sitting on the right side. Luke says there 
were two, and they were both standing up ; and John 
says they were both sitting down, one at the head and 
the other at the feet. 

Matthew says that the angel that was sitting upon 
the stone on the outside of the sepulchre told the two 
Marys that Christ was risen, and that the women went 
away quickly. Mark says that the women, upon seeing 
the stone rolled away, and wondering at it, went into 
the sepulchre, and that it was the angel that was sitting 
within on the right side that told them so. Luke says 
it was the two angels that were standing up ; and John 
says it was Jesus Christ himself that told it to Mary 
Magdalene ; and that she did not go into the sepulchre, 
but only stooped down and looked in. 



184 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Now, if the writers of these four books had gone into 
a court of justice to prove an alibi (for it is of the nat- 
ure of an ahbi that is here attempted to be proved 
namely, the absence of a dead body by supernatural 
means), and had they given their evidence in the same 
contradictory manner as it is here given, they would 
have been in danger of having their ears cropped for 
perjury, and would have justly deserved it. Yet this is 
the evidence, and these are the books that have been 
imposed upon the world as being given by divine in- 
spiration, from the unchangeable Infinite God.. 

The writer of the book of Matthew, after giving this 
account, relates a story that is not to be found in any 
of the other books, and which is the same I have just 
before alluded to. 

"Now," says Matthew (that is, after the conversa- 
tion the women had had with the angel sitting upon the 
stone), "behold, some of the watch (meaning the watch 
that Matthew had said had been placed over the se- 
pulchre) came into the city and showed unto the chief 
priests all the things that were done ; and when they 
v/ere assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, 
they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say 
you, that his disciples came by night, and stole him 
away while we slept; and if this come to the governor's 
ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they 
took the money, and did as they were taught; and this 
saying (that his disciples stole him away) is commonly 
reported among the Jews until this day." 

The expression, until this day, is an evidence that the 
book ascribed to Matthew was not written by Mat- 
thew, and that it has been manufactured long after the 
times and things of which it pretends to treat ; for the 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 185 

expression implies a great length of intervening time. 
It would be inconsistent in us to speak in this manner 
of anything happening in our own time. To give, 
therefore, intelligible meaning to the expression, we 
must suppose a lapse of some generations at least, for 
this manner of speaking carries the mind back to 
ancient time. 

The absurdity also of the story is worth noticing; 
for it shows the writer of the book of Matthew to have 
been an exceeding weak and foolish man. He tells a 
story that contradicts itself in point of possibility; for 
though the guards, if there were any, might be made to 
say that the body was taken away while they were 
asleep, and to give that as a reason for their not having 
prevented it, that same sleep must also have prevented 
their knowing how and by whom it was done ; and yet 
they are made to say that it was the disciples who did 
it. Were persons to tender their evidence of something 
that they should say was done, and of the manner of 
doing it, and of the persons who did it while they were 
asleep and could know nothing of the matter, such evi- 
dence could not be received; it will do well enough 
for Testament evidence, but not for anything where 
truth is concerned. 

I now come to that part of the evidence in those 
books that respects the pretended appearance of Christ 
after his pretended resurrection. 

The writer of the book of Matthew relates that the 
angel that was sitting on the stone at the mouth of the 
sepulchre said to the two Marys, (xxviii, 7), "Behold, 
Christ goeth before you into Galilee, there shall you see 
him ; lo, I have told you.'* And the same writer, at the 
next two verses (9, 10), makes Christ himself to speak 



186 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

to the same purpose to these women immediately after 
the angel had told it to them, and that they ran quickly 
to tell It to the disciples ; and at the sixteenth verse it 
is said, "Then the eleven disciples went away into 
Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed 
them ; and, when they saw him, they worshiped him." 

But the writer of the book of John tells us a story 
very different to that; for he says (xx, 19), "Then the 
same day at evening, being IHq first day of the week 
(that is, the same day that Christ is said to have risen), 
when the doors were shut, where the disciples were 
assembled, for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood 
in the midst." 

According to Matthew, the eleven were marching to 
Galilee to meet Jesus in a mountain, by his own ap- 
pointment, at the very time when, according to John, 
they were assembled in another place, and that not by 
appointment, but in secret, for fear of the Jews. 

The writer of the book of Luke (xxiv, 13, 33, 36) 
contradicts that of Matthew more pointedly than John 
does ; for he says expressly that the meeting was in 
Jerusalem the evening of the same day that Christ rose, 
and that the eleven were there. 

Now, it is not possible, unless we admit these sup- 
posed disciples the right of wilful lying, that the 
writer of these books could be any of the eleven persons 
called disciples ; for if, according to Matthew, the 
eleven went into Galilee to meet Jesus in a mountain 
by his own appointment, on the same day that he is 
said to have risen, Luke and John must have been two 
of that eleven ; yet the writer of Luke says expressly, 
and John implies as much, that the meeting was that 
same day, in a house in Jerusalem; and, on the other 



FACTS^ TRUTHS AND REASONS. 187 

hand, if, according to Luke and John, the eleven were 
assembled in a house in Jerusalem, Matthew must have 
been one of that eleven ; yet Matthew says the meeting 
was in a mountain in Galilee, and consequently the evi- 
dence given in those books destroys each other. 

The writer of the book of Mark says nothing about 
any meeting in Galilee; but he says (xvi, 12) that 
Christ, after his resurrection, appeared in another form 
to two of them, as they walked into the country, and 
that these two told it to the residue, who would not 
believe them. Luke also tells a story, in which he 
keeps Christ employed the whole of the day of this 
pretended resurrection until the evening, and which 
totally invalidates the account of going to the moun- 
tain in Galilee. He says that two of them, without 
saying which two, went that same day to a village 
called Emmaus, three-score furlongs (seven miles and 
a half) from Jerusalem, and that Christ, in disguise, 
went with them, and stayed with them unto the even- 
ing, and supped with them, and then vanished out of 
their sight, and reappeared that same evening at the 
meeting of the eleven in Jerusalem. 

This is the contradictory manner in which the evi- 
dence of this pretended reappearance of Christ is 
stated ; the only point in which the writers agree is the 
skulking privacy of that reappearance ; for whether it 
was in the recess of a mountain in Galilee, or in a shut- 
up house in Jerusalem, it was still skulking. To what 
cause, then, are we to assign this skulking? On the 
one hand, it is directly repugnant to the supposed or 
pretended end — that of convincing the world that 
Christ was risen; and, on the other hand, to have as- 
serted the publicity of it would have exposed the writ- 



188 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

ers of those books to public detection, and, therefore, 
they have been under the necessity of making it a 
private affair. 

As. to the account of Christ being seen by more than 
five hundred at once, it is Paul only v^ho says it, and 
not the five hundred who say it for themselves. It is, 
therefore, the testimony of but one man, and that too 
of a man who did not, according to the same account, 
believe a word of the matter himself at the time it is 
said to have happened. His evidence, supposing him 
to have been the writer of Corinthians xv, where this 
account is given, is like that of a man who comes into a 
court of justice to swear that what he had sworn be- 
fore was false. A man may often see reason, and he 
has, too, always the right of changing his opinion ; but 
this liberty does not extend to matters of fact. 

I now come to the last scene — that of the ascension 
into heaven. Here all fear of the Jews, and of every- 
thing else, must necessarily have been out of the ques- 
tion ; it was that which, if true, was to seal the whole 
evidence that the disciples were to rest for proof. 
Words, whether declarations or promises, that passed 
in private, either in the recess of a mountain in Galilee, 
or in a shut-up house in Jerusalem, even supposing 
them to have been spoken, could not be evidence in 
public; it was therefore necessary that this last scene 
should prelude the possibility of denial and dispute; 
and that it should be, as I have stated in the former 
part of The Age of Reason as public and as visible as 
the sun at noonday ; at least it ought to have been as 
public as the crucifixion is reported to have been. But 
to come to the point. 

In the first place, the writer of the book of Matthew 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 189 

does not say a syllable about it; neither does the 
writer of the book of John. This being the case, is it 
possible to suppose that those writers, who affect to 
be even minute in other matters, would have been 
silent upon this had it been true? The writer of the 
book of Mark passes it off in a careless, slovenly man- 
ner, with a single dash of the pen, as if he was tired 
of romancing,, or ashamed of the story. So also does 
the writer of Luke. And even between these two, 
there is not an apparent agreement as to the place 
where his final parting is said to have been. 

The book of Mark says that Christ appeared to the 
eleven as they sat at meat, alluding to the meeting of 
the eleven at Jerusalem ; he then states the conversa- 
tion that he says passed at that meeting; and immedi- 
ately after says (as a schoolboy would finish a dull 
story), "So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, 
he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right 
hand of God." But the writer of Luke says that the 
ascension was from Bethany; that Christ led them out 
as far as Bethany, and was parted from them there, 
and was carried up into heaven. So also was Ma- 
homet; and, as to Moses, the apostle Jude says (verse 
9), that Michael and the devil disputed about his body. 
While we believe such fables as these, or either of 
them, we believe unworthily of acts computed to the 
Infinite God. 

I have now gone through the examination of the 
four books ascribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 
John ; and when it is considered that the whole space 
of time from the crucifixion to what is called the as- 
cension is but a few days^-apparently not more than 
three or four — and that all the circumstances are re- 



190 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

ported to have happened nearly about the same spot,- 
Jerusalem ; it is, I believe, almost impossible to find, in 
any story upon record, so many and such glaring ab- 
surdities, contradictions, and falsehoods as are in those 
books. They are more numerous and striking than 
I had any expectation of finding them when I began 
this examination, and far more so than I had any idea 
of when I wrote the former part of The Age of Reason. 
I had then neither Bible nor Testament to refer to, 
nor could I procure any. My own situation, even as 
to existence, was becoming every day more precarious ; 
and as I was willing to leave something behind me 
upon the subject, I was obliged to be quick and con- 
cise. The quotations I then made were from memory 
only, but they are correct; and the opinions I have 
advanced in that work are the effect of the most clear 
and long-established conviction that the Bible and the 
Testament are impositions upon the world; that the 
fall of the human race, the account of Jesus Christ be- 
ing the Son of God, and of Christ dying to appease the 
wrath of God, and of salvation by that strange means, 
are all fabulous inventions, dishonorable to the power 
force and impulse of the Infinite Intelligence (God) 
based on moral character, or the practice of what are 
called moral virtues of a religion : The Great Moral 
Way. And that it was upon this only (so far as 
religion is concerned) that I rested all my hopes of 
happiness here or hereafter. So say I now — and so 
help me God. 

But to return to the subject. Though it is impos- 
sible, at this distance of time, to ascertain as a fact 
who were the writers of those four books (and this 
alone is sufficient to hold them in doubt, and where we 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 191 

doubt we do not believe), it is not difficult to ascertain 
negatively that they were not written by the persons 
to whom they are ascribed. The contradictions in 
those books demonstrate two things : 

First, that the writers cannot have been eye-wit- 
nesses and ear-witnesses of the matters they relate, or 
they would have related them without those contra- 
dictions; and, consequently, that the books have not 
been written by the persons called apostles, who are 
supposed to have been witnesses of this kind. 

Secondly, that the writers, whoever they were, have 
not acted in concerted imposition, but each writer 
separately and individually for himself, and without 
the knowledge of the other. 

The same evidence that applies to prove the one, 
applies equally to prove both cases ; that is, that the 
books were not written by the men called apostles, and 
also that they are not a concerted imposition. As to 
inspiration, it is altogether out of the question ; we may 
as well attempt to unite truth and falsehood as inspira- 
tion and contradiction. 

If four men are eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses to a 
scene, they will, without any concert between them, 
agree as to time and place and where that scene hap- 
pened. Their individual knowledge of the thing, each 
one knowing it for himself, renders concert totally 
unnecessary; the one will not say it was in a mountain 
in the country, and the other at a house in town ; the 
one will not say it was at sunrise, and the other that it 
was dark. For in whatever place it was, and whatever 
time it was, they know it equally alike. 

And, on the other hand, if four men concert a story, 
they will make their separate relations of that story 



192 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

agree, and corroborate with each other to support the 
whole. That concert suppHes the want of fact in the 
one case, as the knowledge of the fact supersedes, in the 
other case, the necessity of a concert. The same con- 
tradictions, therefore, that prove there has been no 
concert, prove also that the reporters had no knowledge 
of the fact (or rather of that which they relate as a 
fact), and detects also the falsehood of their reports. 
Those books, therefore, have neither been written by 
the men called apostles nor by impostors in concert. 
How then have they been written? 

I am not one of those who are fond of believing there 
is much of that which is called willful lying, or lying 
originally, except in the case of people setting up to be 
prophets, as in the Old Testament; for prophesying is 
lying professionally. In almost all other cases, it is not 
difficult to discover the progress by which even simple 
supposition, with the aid of credulity, will, in time; 
o^roAv into a lie, and at last be told as a fact ; and when- 
ever we can find a charitable reason for a thing of this 
kind, we ought not to indulge a severe one. 

The story of Jesus Christ appearing after he was 
dead is the story of an apparition, such as timid imagi- 
nations can always create in vision, and credulity be- 
lieve. Stories of this kind had been told of the assassin 
nation of Julius Caesar, not many years before, and 
they generally have their origin in violent deaths, or in 
the execution of innocent persons. In cases of this kind 
compassion lends its aid and benevolently stretches the 
story. It goes on a little and a little further, till it 
becomes a most certain truth. Once start a ghost, and 
credulity fills up the history of its life and assigns the 
cause of its appearance ; one tells it one way, another 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 193 

another way, till there are as many stories about the 
ghost and about the proprietor of the ghost, as there 
are about Jesus Christ in these four books. 

The story of the appearance of Jesus Christ is told 
with that strange mixture of the natural and impossible 
that distinguishes legendary tale from fact. He is rep- 
resented as suddenly coming in and going out when the 
doors are shut, and of vanishing out of sight and ap- 
pearing again, as one would conceive of an unsubstan- 
tial vision ; then again Christ was hungry, sits down to 
meat and eats his supper. But as those who tell stories 
of this kind never provide for all the cases, so it is 
here ; they have told us that when he arose he left his 
grave clothes behind him ; but they have forgotten to 
provide other clothes for him to appear in afterwards, 
or tell to us what he did with them when he ascended ; 
whether he stripped all ofif, or went up clothes and all. 
In the case of Elijah, they have been careful enough to 
make him throw down his mantle ; how it happened not 
to be burnt in the chariot of fire, they also have not 
told us. But as imagination supplies all deficiencies of 
this kind, we may suppose, if we please, that it was 
made of salamander's wool. 

Those who are not much acquainted with ecclesi- 
astical history, may suppose that the book called the 
New Ttestament has existed ever since the time of 
Jesus Christ, as they suppose that the books ascribed 
to Moses have existed ever since the time of Moses. 
But the fact is historically otherwise ; there was no such 
book as the New Testament till more than three hun- 
dred years after the time that Christ is said to have 
lived. 

At what time the books ascribed to Matthew, Mark, 



194 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

IvUke, and John began to appear is altogether a matter 
of uncertainty. There is not the least shadow of evi- 
dence of who the persons were that wrote them, nor at 
w^hat time they were written ; and they might as well 
have been called by the names of any of the other sup- 
posed apostles as by the names they are now called. 
The originals are not in the possession of any Christian 
church existing, any more than the two tables of stone 
written on, as they pretend, by the finger of God, upon 
Mount Sinai, and given to Moses, are in the possession 
of the Jews. And even if they were, there is no possi- 
bility of proving the handwriting in the case. At the 
time those four books were written there was no print- 
ing, and consequently there could be no publication 
otherwise than by written copies, which any person 
might make or alter at pleasure, and call them originals. 
Can we suppose it is consistent with the Infinite Intelli- 
gence God that rules and controls the Earth and all 
Infinitude would take such precarious means as these, 
or that it is consistent that we should pin our faith 
upon such uncertainties? We cannot make nor alter, 
nor even imitate, so much as one blade of grass, and yet 
we can make or alter the works of God so easily as the 
works of mankind. 

The former part of The Age of Reason has not been 
published two years, and there is already an expression 
in it that is not mine. The expression is : "The book 
of Luke was carried by a majority of one voice only." 
It may be true, but it is not I that have said it. Some 
person who might know of that circumstance has added 
it in a note at the bottom of the page of some of the edi- 
tions printed either in England or in America ; and the 
printers, after that, have erected it into the body of the 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 195 

work, and made me the author of it. If this has hap- 
pened within such a short space of time, notwithstand- 
ing the aid of printing, which prevents the alteration 
of copies individually; what may not have happened 
in a much greater length of time, when there was no 
printing, and when any person who could write could 
make a written copy and call it an original by Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, or John; 

About three hundred and fifty years after the time 
that Christ is said to have lived, several writings of the 
kind I am speaking of were scattered in the hands of 
divers individuals; and as the church had begun to 
form itself into a hierarchy, or church government with 
temporal powers, it set itself about collecting them into 
a code, as we now see them, called ''The New Testa- 
ment." They decided by vote, as I have before said in 
the former part of The Age of Reason, which of those 
writings out of the collection they had made, should be 
the volition of God, and which should not. The Rab- 
bins of the Jews had decided, by vote, upon the books 
of the Bible before. 

As the object of the church, as is the case in all 
national establishment of churches, wa'B power and rev- 
enue, and terror the means it used, it is consistent to 
suppose that the most miraculous and wonderful of 
the writings they had collected stood the best chance 
of being voted. And as to the authenticity of the books, 
the vote stands in the place of it ; for it can be traced no 
higher. 

Disputes, however, ran high among the people then 
calling themselves Christians ; not only as to points of 
doctrine, but as to the authenticity of the books. In 
the contest between the persons called St. Augustine 



196 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

and Fauste, about the year 400, the latter says, ''The 
books called the Evangelists have been composed long 
after the times of the apostles, by some obscure per- 
sons who, fearing that the world would not give credit 
to their relation of matters of which they could not be 
informed, have published them under the names of the 
apostles ; and which are so full of sottishness and dis- 
cordant relations that there is neither agreement nor 
connection between them." 

And in another place, to the advocates of those books 
as being the volition of God, Fauste says, "It is thus 
that your predecessors have inserted in the scriptures 
many things which, though they carry Christ's name, 
agree not with Christ's doctrines. This is not surpris- 
ing, since that we have often proved that these things 
have not been written by the apOstles, but that for the 
greatest part they are founded upon tales, upon vague 
reports and put together b}^ I know not who, half Jews; 
with but little agreement between them ; and which 
they have nevertheless published under the names of 
the apostles, and have thus attributed to them their 
own errors and their lies." 

The reader will see by those extracts that the au- 
thenticity of the books of the New Testament was de- 
nied, and the book treated as tales, forgeries, and lies, 
at the time they were voted to be the volition of God. 
But the interest of the church, with the assistance of 
the fagot, bore down the opposition, and at last sup- 
pressed all investigation. Miracles followed upon mir- 
acles, if we will believe them, and men were taught 
to say they believed whether they believed or not. But 
(by way of throwing in a thought) the French Revo- 
lution has excommunicated the church from the power 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 197 

of working miracles ; she has not been able, with the 
assistance of all her saints, to work one miracle since 
the revolution began ; and as she never stood in greater 
need than now, we may, without the aid of divination, 
conclude that all her former miracles are tricks and 
lies. 

I have taken these two extracts from Boulanger's 
Life of Paul, written in French; Boulanger has quoted 
them from the writings of Augus'tine against Fauste, 
to which he refers. Boulanger also has collected from 
the ecclesiastical histories, and the writings of the 
fathers^ as they are called, several matters which show 
the opinion that prevailed among the different sets of 
Christians at the time the Testament, as we now see 
it, was voted to be the volition of God. The following 
extracts are from the second chapter of that work : 

"The Marcionists (a Christian sect) asserted that the 
Evangelists were filled with falsities. The Manich- 
aeans, who formed a very numerous sect at the com- 
mencement of Christianity, rejected as false all the 
New Testament, and showed other writings quite dif- 
ferent that they gave for authentic. The Corinthians, 
like the Marcionists, admitted not the Acts of the 
Apostles. The Encratites and the Sevenians adopted 
neither the Acts nor the Epistles of Paul. Chrysostom, 
in a homily which he made upon the Acts of the Apos- 
tles, says that in his time, about the year 400, many 
people knew nothing either of the author or of the 
book. St. Irene, who lived before that time, reports 
that the Valentians, like several other sects of the 
Christians, accused the scriptures of being filled with 
imperfections, errors, and contradictions. The Ebion- 
ites, or Nazarenes, who were the first Christians, re- 



198 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

jected all the Epistles of Paul, and regarded him as an 
impostor. They report, among other things, that he 
was originally a pagan ; that he came to Jerusalem, 
where he lived some time ; and that, having a mind 
to marry the daughter of the high priest, he had him- 
self been .circumcised ; but that not being able to ob- 
tain her, he quarreled with the Jews and wrote against 
circumcision, and against the observation of the Sab- 
bath, and against all the legal ordinances." 

When we consider the lapse of more than three hun- 
dred years intervening between the time that Christ is 
said to have lived and the time the New Testament 
was formed into a book, we must see, even without the 
assistance of historical evidence, the exceeding uncer- 
tainty there is of its authenticity. The authenticity of 
the book of Homer, so far as regards the authorship, 
is much better established than that of the New Testa- 
ment, though Homer is a thousand years the most 
ancient. It was only an exceeding good poet that 
could have written the book of Homer, and, therefore, 
few men only could have attempted it ; and a man capa- 
ble of doing it would not have thrown away his own 
fame by giving it to another. In like manner, there 
were but few that could have composed Euclid's Ele- 
ments, because none but a^n exceeding good geometri- 
cian could have been the author of that work. 

But with respect to the books of the New Testament, 
particularly such parts as tell us of the resurrection 
and ascension of Christ, any person who could tell a 
story of an apparition, or of people's ways, could have 
made such books; for the story is most wretchedly 
told. The chance, therefore, of forgery in the Testa- 
ment is millions to one greater than in the case of 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 199 

Homer or Euclid. Of the numerous priests or parsons 
of the present day, bishops and all, every one of them 
can make a sermon, or translate a scrap of Latin, es- 
pecially if it has been translated a thousand times be- 
fore ; but is there any amongst them that can write 
poetry like Homer, or science like Euclid ; the sum 
total of a parson's learning, with very few exceptions, 
is a-b ab, and hie, haec, hoc; and their knowledge of 
science is three times one is three ; and this is more 
than sufficient to have enabled them, had they lived at 
the time, to have written all the books of the New 
Testament. 

As the opportunities of forgeries were greater, so 
also was the inducement. A man could gain no advan- 
tage by writing under the name of Homer or Euclid; 
if he could write equal to them, it would be. better that 
he wrote under his own name ; if inferior, he could 
not succeed. Pride would prevent the former, and 
impossibility the latter. But with respect to such 
books as compose the New Testament, all the induce- 
ments were on the side of forgery. The best imagined 
history that could have been made, at the distance of 
two or three hundred years after the time, could not 
have passed for an original under the name of the real 
writer; the only chance of success lay in forgery, for 
the church wanted pretense for its new doctrine, and 
truth and talents were out of the question. 

But as it is not uncommon (as before observed) to 
relate stories of persons walking after they are dead, 
and of ghosts and apparitions of such as have fallen by 
some violent or extraordinary means ; and as the peo- 
ple of that day were in the habit of believing such 
things, and of the appearance of angels, and also of 



200 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

devils, and of their getting into people's insides, and 
shaking them like a fit of an ague, and of their being 
cast out again as if by an emetic (Mary Magdalene, 
the book of Mark tells us, had brought up, or been 
brought to bed of seven devils), it was nothing extra- 
ordinary that some story of this kind should get 
abroad of the person called Jesus Christ, and become 
afterwards the foundation of the four books ascribed 
to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each writer told 
the tale as he heard it, or thereabouts, and gave to his 
book the name of the saint or the apostle whom tradi- 
tion had given as the eyewitness. It is only upon this 
ground that the contradictions in those books can be 
accounted for ; and if this be not the case, they are 
downright impositions, lies, and forgeries, without 
even the apology of credulity. 

That they have been written by a sort of half Jews, 
as the foregoing quotations mention, is discernible 
enough. The frequent references made to that chief 
assassin and impostor, Moses, and to the men called 
prophets, established this point ; and, on the other hand, 
the church has complemented the fraud by admitting 
the Bible and the Testament to reply to each other. 
Between the Christian Jew and the Christian Gentile, 
the thing called a prophecy and the thing prophesied 
of — the type and the thing typified, the sign and the 
thing signified — have been industriously rummaged 
up, and fitted together like old locks and pick-lock 
keys. The story foolishly enough told of Eve and the 
serpent, and naturally enough as to the enmity be- 
tween the people and serpents (for the serpent always 
bites about the heel, because it cannot reach higher; 
and mankind always knocks the serpent about the 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 201 

head, as the most effectual way to prevent its biting). 
"It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his 
heel" (Genesis iii, 15). This foolish story, I say, has 
been made into a prophecy, a type, and a promise to 
begin with ; and the lying imposition of Isaiah to Ahaz, 
''That a virgin shall conceive and bear a son," as a 
sign that Ahaz should conquer, when the event was 
that he was defeated (as already noticed in the obser- 
vations on the book of Isaiah), has been perverted and 
made to serve as a winder-up. 

Jonah and the whale are also made into a sign and 
type. Jonah is Jesus, and the whale is the grave; for 
it is said (and they have made Christ to say it of him- 
self), Mathew xii, 40, "For as Jonah was three days 
and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son 
of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of 
the earth." But it happens, awkwardly enough, that 
Christ, according to their own account, was but one 
day and two nights in the grave ; about thirty-six hours 
instead of seventy-two ; that is, the Friday night, the 
Saturday, and the Saturday night; for they say he 
was up on the Sunday morning by sunrise, or before. 
But as this fits quite as well as the bite and the kick 
in Genesis, or the virgin and her son in Isaiah, it will 
pass in the lump of orthodox things. Thus much for 
historical part of the Testament and its evidences. 

Epistles of Paul. — The epistles ascribed to Paul, be- 
ing fourteen in number, almost fill up the remaining 
part of the Testatment. Whether those epistles were 
written by the person to whom they are ascribed, is a 
matter of no great importance, since that the writer, 
whoever he was, attempts to prove his doctrine by 
argument. He does not pretend to have been witness 



202 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

to any of the scenes told of the resurrection and the 
ascension; and he declares that he had not believed 
them. 

The story of his being struck to the ground as he was 
journeying to Damascus, has nothing in it miraclous 
or extraordinary; he escaped with life, and that is more 
than many others have done who have been struck 
with lightning; and that he should lose his sight for 
three days, and be unable to eat or drink during that 
time, is nothing more than is common in such condi- 
tions. His companions that were with him appear 
not to have suffered in the same manner, for they were 
well enough to lead him the remainder of the journey; 
neither did they pretend to have seen any vision. 

The character of the person called Paul, according to 
the accounts given of him, has in it a great deal of vio- 
lence and fanaticism ; he had persecuted with as much 
heat as he preached afterwards ; the stroke he had, 
received had changed his thinking without altering his 
constitution ; and either as a Jew or a Christian he was 
the same zealot. Such men are never good moral evi- 
dences of any doctrine they preach. They are always 
in extremes, as well of actions as of belief. 

The doctrine he sets out to prove by argument is the 
resurrection of the same body, and he advances this as 
an evidence of immortality. But so much will people 
differ in their manner of thinking, and in the conclus- 
ions they draw from the same premises, that this doc- 
trine of the resurrection of the same body, so far from 
being an evidence of immortality, appears to me to 
be an evidence against it; for if I had already died 
in this body, and am raised again in the same body 
in which I have died, it is presumptive evidence that 



FACTS, TRUTHS, AND REASONS. 203 

I shall die again. That resurrection no more secures 
me against the repetition of dying than an ague fit, 
when past, secures me against another. To believe, 
therefore, in immortality, I must have a more elevated 
idea than is contained in the gloomy doctrine of the 
resurrection. 

Besides, as a matter of choice, as well as of hope, I 
had rather have a better body and a more convenient 
form than the present. Every animal that inhabits the 
earth excels us in something. The winged insects, 
without mentioning the doves and eagles, can pass 
over more space with greater ease in a few minutes 
than any human being can in an hour. The glide of 
the smallest fish, in proportion to its bulk, exceeds 
us in motion, almost beyond comparison, and without 
weariness. Even the sluggish snail can ascend from 
the bottom of a dungeon, where a human being, by the 
want of that ability, would perish ; and a spider can 
launch itself from the top, as a playful amusement. 
The personal powers of the human race are so limited, 
and their heavy frame so little constructed to exten- 
sive enjoyment that there is nothing to induce us to 
vv^ish the opinion of Paul to be true. It is too little for 
the magnitude of the scene — too mean for the sublim- 
ity of the subject. 

At pages 164 and 165 of Thomas Paine's book he was 
under the positive necessity in order to preserve his 
book, and even his very existence, to advocate a future 
life, which he did not believe. Where there is a Pos- 
itive there must be a Negative. All language and all 
laws, both finite and infinite, are based on the Positive 
and Negative principle — Life and Death. But the 
words mortal and immortal are inventions of priest- 



204 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

craft to establish a future existence after death. The 
word mortal means subject to death; the word im- 
mortal means not subject to death. Now all this guy- 
flumery of a great Heaven and great Hell after death 
is the very foundation of all the 'religious creeds of 
every nation, and 'every tongue, and is the stock in 
trade of the Priests, preachers, and all other religious 
dignitaries on the whole earth. There can be no future 
existence except there is a past existence, which is too 
absurd and erroneous to be considered only by fools. 
But priestcraft had to have it, and that was the reason 
for that bastardly performance of lies and deception 
of bringing Christ to the human vision and returning 
him by the Elijah route of aerial navigation. A human 
being consists of four eternal things : Intelligence, 
Life, Heat, and Matter, and Death is segregation and 
separation of these four eternal things, all of which 
existed before their union and still exist after their 
union. So that Intelligence is Eternal Intelligence; 
Life is Eternal Life ; Heat is Eternal Heat, and Matter 
is Eternal Matter; all having an Eternal Existence 
before they entered into the combination. Nothing 
lost or destroyed. There is over four billion people 
that have existence on the earth, and cease to exist in 
one hundred years, and still Intelligence, Life, Heat, 
and Matter remains the same — nothing lost or de- 
stroyed. Millions of planets, speeding their orbits in 
the ethereal sky in the universes and universalisms 
throughout all infinitude, all governed and controlled 
by the impulse of Infinite Intelligence God. There is 
but one existence of a human being; that originates 
with man and passes to the woman by conjugal felicity 
resulting by conception into the existence of a human 



'EXACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 205 

being, which ceases all existence at death. The exist- 
ence can be traced no further in the future than to 
death and no further in the past than to the concep- 
tion. All the animal kingdom get existence the same 
way and cease their existence the same way. (See 
Solomon, Eccles. 3:18, 19, 20, 21, 22; Job, 7 \7 , 8, 9, 10.) 

As to the doubtful jargon ascribed to Paul in 1 
Corinthians xv, which makes part of the burial service 
of some Christian sectaries, it is as destitute of mean- 
ing as the tolling of the bell at a funeral ; it explains 
nothing to the understanding, it illustrates nothing to 
the imagination, but leaves the reader to find any 
meaning if he can. "All flesh (says Paul) is not the 
same flesh. There is one kind of flesh for the human 
race, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and 
another of birds." And what then? — nothing. A cook 
could have said as much. "There are also (says Paul) 
celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial; but the glory of 
the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is 
another." And what then? — nothing. And what is the 
difference? — nothing that Paul has told. "There is 
(says Paul) one glory of the sun, and another glory of 
the moon, and another glory of the stars." And what 
then? — nothing; except that Paul says that one star 
differeth from another star in glory, instead of dis- 
tance ; and Paul might as well have told us that the 
moon did not shine so bright as the sun. All this is 
nothing better than the jargon of a conjuror, who picks 
up phrases Paul does not understand, to confound the 
credulous people who come to have their fortune told. 
Priests and conjurors are of the same trade. 

Sometimes Paul affects to be a naturalist and to 
prove Paul's system of resurrection from the principles 
of vegetation. "Thou fool (says Paul), that which 



206 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

thou sowest is not quickened except it die." To which 
one might reply in Paul's own language, and say: 
*'Thou fool, Paul ; that which thou sowest is not quick- 
ened except it does not die; for the grain that dies in 
the ground never does, nor can, vegetate. It is only 
the living grains that produce the next crop. But the 
metaphor, in any point of view, is no simile. It is suc- 
cession, and (not) resurrection." 

The progress of an animal from one state of being to 
another, as from a worm to a butterfly, applies to the 
case; but this of a grain does not, and shows Paul to 
have been what Paul says of others — a fool. 

Whether the fourteen epistles ascribed to Paul were 
written by him or not is a matter of indifference ; they 
are either argumentative or dogmatical ; and as the 
arg;ument is defective, and the dogmatical part is 
merely presumptive, it signifies not who wrote them. 
And the same may be said for the remaining parts of 
the Testament. It is not upon the epistles, but upon 
what is called the gospel, contained in the four books 
ascribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and 
upon the pretended prophecies, that the theory of the 
church calling itself the Christian church is founded. 
The epistles are dependent upon those, and must fol- 
low their fate ; for if the story of Jesus Christ be fabu- 
lous, all reasoning founded upon it as a supposed truth 
must fall with it. 

We know from history that one of the principal 
leaders of this church, Athanasius, lived at the time the 
New Testament was formed, and died, according to 
church chronology, in the year 371 ; and we know also 
from the absurd jargon Athanasius has left under the 
name of a creed, the character of the people who 
formed the New Testament: and we know also from 



PACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 207 

the same history that the authenticity of the books of 
which it is composed was denied at the time. It was 
upon the vote of such as Athanasius, who died in the 
year 371, that the Testament was decreed to be the 
volition of God; and nothing can present to us the 
strange ideas than that of decreeing the teachings 
of God by vote. Those who rest their faith upon 
such authority put man in the place of God, and have 
no true foundation for what they declared. Credulity, 
however, is not a crime; but it becomes criminal by 
resisting conviction. It is strangling the human con- 
science by the efforts they make to ascertain truth. 
We should never force belief upon ourselves in any- 
thing. 

I here close the subject on the Old Testament and 
the New. The evidence I have produced to prove 
them forgeries is extracted from the books themselves, 
and acts like a two-edged sword, either wa}^ If the 
evidence be denied, the authenticity of the scriptures is 
denied with it, for it is a scripture evidence ; and if the 
evidence be admitted the authenticity of the books is 
disproved. The contradictory impossibilities contained 
in the Old Testament and the New, put them in the 
case of a witness who swears for and against. Either 
evidence convicts them of perjury, and equally de- 
stroys reputation. 

Should the Bible and the Testament hereafter fall, 
it is not that I have done it.' I have done no more 
than extract the evidence from the confused mass of 
matters with which it is mixed, and arranged that evi- 
dence in a point of light to be clearly seen and easily 
comprehended; and, having done this, I leave the 
readers to judge for themselves, as I have judged for 
myself. 



208 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 



CONCLUSION. 

In the former part of The Age of Reason I have 
spoken of the three frauds, mystery, miracle, and 
prophecy; and as I have seen nothing in any of the 
answers to that work that in the least affects what I 
have there said upon those subjects, I shall not en- 
cumber this Second Part with additions that are not 
necessary. 

I have spoken also in the same work upon what is 
called revelation, and have shown the absurd misap- 
plication of that term to the books of the Old Testa- 
ment and the New; for certainly revelation is out of 
the question in reciting anything of which mankind 
has been the actors or the witnesses. That which they 
have done or seen need no revelation to tell them they 
have done it or seen it; for they know it already; nor 
to enable them to tell it or to write it. It is ignorance 
or imposition to apply the term revelation in such 
cases; yet the Bible and Testatment are classed under 
this fraudulent description of being all revelation. 

God is Infinite Intelligence. Revelation is the im- 
pulse of Intelligence to the human race and can only 
be applied to something revealed that was unknown 
before, and is only a revelation to whom it is received, 
but to another is not revelation ; and whoever puts 
faith in that account, puts it in the person from whom 
the account comes ; and that person may have been- 
deceived, or may have dreamed it; or may be an im- 
postor, and may have lied. There is no possible cri- 
terion whereby to judge of the truth of what they tell ; 
for even the morality of it would be no proof of revela- 
tion. In all such cases the proper answer should be, 



FACTS, TRUTHS AXD REASONS. 209 

"When it is revealed to me, I will believe it to be 
revelation ; but it is not, and it cannot be incumbent 
upon me to believe it to be revelation before; neither is 
it proper that I should take the word of any person 
that the revelation was reported, and put a liar in the 
place of God." This is the manner in which I have 
spoken of revelation in the former part of The Age 
of Reason, and which, whilst it reverentially admits 
revelation as a possible thing, it prevents the imposi- 
tion of one person upon another, and precludes the 
wicked use of pretended revelation. 

But though, speaking for myself, I thus admit the 
possibility of revelation, I totally disbelieve that God 
ever did communicate anything to any person by any 
mode of speech, in any language, or by any kind of 
vision or appearance, or by means which our senses 
are capable of receiving, otherwise than by the uni- 
versal display in, and by that repugnance we feel in 
ourselves to bad actions, and disposition to good ones. 

The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid 
cruelties, and the greatest miseries that have afflicted 
the human race, have had their origin in this thing 
called revelation or revealed religion. It has been the 
most dishonorable belief against the character of God, 
the most destructive to morality and the peace and 
happiness of the human race, that ever was propagated 
since people began to exist. It is better, far better, 
that we admitted, if it were possible, a thousand devils 
to roam at large, and to preach publicly the doctrine 
of devils, if there were any such, than that we per- 
mitted one such impostor and monster as Moses, 
Joshua, Samuel, and the Bible prophets, to come with 
the pretended volition of God in their mouths, and 
have credit among us. 



210 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Whence arose all the horrid assassinations of whole 
nations of men, women, and infants, with which the 
Bible is filled, and the bloody persecutions, and tortures 
unto death, and religious wars, that since that time 
have laid Europe in blood and ashes ; whence arose 
they but from this impious thing called revealed relig- 
ion, and this monstrous belief that God has spoken to 
all mankind ; The lies of the scriptures have been the 
cause of the one, and the lies of the Testament of the 
other. 

Some Christians pretend that Christianity was not 
established by the sword ; but of what period of time 
do they speak? It was impossible that twelve persons 
could begin with the sword; they had not the power; 
but no sooner were the professors of Christianity suffi- 
ciently powerful to employ the sword than they did so, 
and the stake and fagot too; and Mahomet could not 
do it sooner. By the same spirit that Peter cut off the 
ear of the high priest's servant (if the story be true) he 
would have cut ofT the servant's head, and the head of 
the servant's master, had he been able. Besides this, 
Christianity grounds itself originally upon the Bible, 
and the Bible was established altogether by the sv/ord, 
and that in the worst use of it; not to terrify, but to 
extirpate. The Jews made no converts ; they butcher- 
ed all-. The Bible is the sire of the Testament, and 
both are called the volition of God. The Christians 
read both books; the ministers preach from both 
books ; and this thing called Christianity is made up 
of both. It is then false to say that Christianity was 
not established by the sword. 

The only sect that has not persecuted are the Qua- 
kers ; and the only reason that can be given for it is 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 211 

that they are rather more Freethinkers than Chris- 
tians. They do not believe much about Jesus Christ, 
and they call the scriptures a dead letter. Had they 
called them by a worse name, they had been nearer 
the truth. 

It is incumbent on every person who reverences the 
Infinite Intelligence God, and who wishes to lessen the 
catalogue of artificial miseries, and remove the cause 
that has sown persecution thick among mankind, to 
expel all ideas of revealed religion as a dangerous her- 
esy and an impious fraud. What is it that we have 
learned from this pretended thing called revealed re- 
ligion? Nothing that is useful to the human race, and 
everything that is dishonorable to intelligent thought. 
What is it that the Bible teaches us? — rapine, cruelty, 
and murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? — 
to believe that God committed debauchery with a 
woman engaged to be married ; and the belief of this 
debauchery is called faith. 

As to the fragments of morality that are irregularly 
and thinly scattered in those books, they make no part 
of this pretended thing called revealed religion. They 
are the natural dictates of conscience, and the bonds by 
which society is held together, and without which it 
cannot exist; and are nearly the same in all religions, 
in all societies, and in all countries — The Great Moral 
Way. The Testament teaches nothing new upon this 
subject, and where it attempts to exceed, it becomes 
mean and ridiculous. The doctrine of not retaliating 
injuries is much better expressed in Proverbs, which 
is a collection as well from the Gentiles as from the 
Jews, than it is in the Testament. It is there said 
(Proverbs xxv, 21), "If thine enemy be hungry, give 



212 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water 
to drink;" but when it is said, as in the Testament, "If 
a person smite thee on the right cheek, turn to them 
the other also," it is assassinating the dignity of for- 
bearance, and sinking the human race to the level of 
the cur dog. 

"Loving of enemies" is another dogma of feigned 
morality, and has besides no meaning. It is incumbent 
on all people as moralists, that they do not revenge 
an injury; and it is equally as good in a political sense, 
for there is no end to retaliation ; each retaliates on the 
other, and calls it justice; but to love in proportion to 
the injury, if it could be done, would be to offer a 
premium for crime. Besides, the word "enemies" is 
too vague and general to be used in a moral maxim, 
which ought always to be clear and defined, like a 
proverb. If one person be the enemy of another from 
mistake and prejudice, as in the case of religious opin- 
ions, and sometimes in politics, that person is different 
from an enemy at heart with a criminal intention; and 
it is incumbent upon us, and it contributes also to our 
own tranquility, that we put the best construction upon 
a thing that it will bear. But even this erroneous mo- 
tive in your enemy makes no motive for love on the 
other part; and to say that we can love voluntarily, 
and without a motive, is morally and physically im- 
possible. 

Morality is injured by prescribing to it duties that, 
in the first place, are impossible to be performed, and 
if they could be would be productive of evil; or ,as 
before said, be premiums for crime. The maxim of 
doing as we would be done unto does not include this 
Strange doctrine of loving enemies ; for no people ex- 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 213 

pects to be loved themselves for their mean acts or for 
their enmity. 

According to what is called Christ's Sermon on the 
Mount, in the book of Matthew, where, among some 
good things, a great deal of this feigned morality is 
introduced, it is there expressly said that the doctrine 
of forbearance, or of not retaliating injuries, was not 
any part of the doctrine of the Jews; but as this doc- 
trine is found in Proverbs it must, according to that 
statement, have been copied from the Gentiles, from 
whom Christ had learned it. Those people whom Jew- 
ish and Christian idolaters have abusively called heath- 
ens had much better and clearer ideas of justice and 
morality than are to be found in the Old Testament, so 
far as it is Jewish, or in the New. The answer of Solon 
on the question, ''Which is the most perfect popular 
government?" has never been exceeded by any man 
since his time, as containing a maxim of political mo- 
rality. ''That," says he, "where the least injury done 
to the meanest individual is considered as an insult on 
the whole constitution." Solon lived about 500 B. C. 

Those who preach this doctrine of loving their ene- 
mies are in general the greatest persecutors, and they 
act consistently by so doing; for the doctrine is hypo- 
critical, and it is natural that hypocrisy should act the 
reverse of what it preaches. For my own part, I dis- 
own the doctrine, and consider it as a feigned or fabu- 
lous morality ; yet the person does not exist that can 
say I have persecuted that person, or any person, or 
any set of people, either in the American Revolution 
or in the French Revolution ; or that I have in any case 
leturned evil for evil. But it is not incumbent on man- 
kind to reward a bad action with a good one, or to 



214 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

return good for evil; and wherever it is done, it is a 
voluntary act, and not a duty. It is also absurd to 
suppose that such doctrine can make any part of a re- 
vealed religion. We imitate the moral character by 
forbearing with each other, far better to forbear with 
all mankind in proportion as they are good or bad. 

If we consider the nature of our condition here, we 
must see there is no occasion for such a thing as re- 
vealed religion. What is it we want to know? Does 
not the Infinite space we behold, preach to us the 
existence of an impulsive power that governs and regu- 
lates the whole? And is not the evidence that the 
Infinite Intelligence God holds out to our senses in- 
finitely stronger than anything we can read in a book, 
that any impostor might make and call revealed relig- 
ion? As for morality, the knowledge of it exists in 
every person's conscience. 

Here we are. The existence of an intelligent power 
is sufHciently demonstrated to us, though we cannot 
conceive, as it is impossible we should, the nature and 
manner of its existence. We cannot conceive how we 
came here ourselves, and yet we know for a fact that 
we are here. We must know also that the power that 
called us into being can call us to account for the man- 
ner in which we have lived here ; and therefore, with- 
out seeking any other motive for the belief, it is 
rational to believe that we know beforehand that God 
can. The probability, or even possibility, of the thing 
is all that we ought to know; for if we knew it as a 
fact, we should be the mere slaves of terror; our be- 
lief would have no merit, and our best actions no 
virtue. 

True religion. The Great Moral Way, teaches the 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 215 

human race, without the possibility of being deceived, 
all that is necessary or proper to be known. All peo- 
ple there read, in the handwriting of Infinite Intelli- 
gence God, the certainty of God's existence, and the 
immutability of God's power, and all other Bibles and 
Testaments are to the human race forgeries. The 
probability that we may be called to account hereafter 
will, to a reflecting mind, have the influence of belief; 
for it is not our belief or disbelief that can make or 
unmake the fact. As this is the state we are in, and 
which it is proper we should be in, as free agents, it is 
the fool only, and not the philosopher, nor even the 
prudent people, that would live as if there were no 
Infinite God to rule over the eternal heavens and the 
destiny of the human race. 

But the belief of a God is so weakened by being 
mixed with the strange fable of the Christian creed, 
and with the wild adventures related in the Bible, and 
the obscurity and obscene nonsense of the Testament, 
that the mind of mankind is bewildered as in a fog. 
Viewing all these things in a confused mass, they 
confound fact with fable ; and as they cannot believe 
all, they feel a disposition to reject all. But the belief 
of an Infinite Intelligence God is a belief distinct from 
all other things, and ought not to be confounded with 
any. The notion of a trinity of gods has enfeebled the 
belief of any God whatever. A multiplication of be- 
liefs acts as a division -of belief; and in proportion as 
anything is divided it is weakened. 

Religion, by such means, becomes a thing of form in- 
stead of fact; of notion instead of principle; morality 
is banished to make room for an imaginary thing called 
faith, and this faith has its origin in a supposed de- 



216 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

bauchery; a man God is preached instead of Intelli- 
gence God; an execution is an object for gratitude; the 
preachers daub themselves with the blood, like a troop 
of assassins, and pretend to admire the brilliancy it 
gives them; they preach a humdrum sermon on the 
merits of the execution ; then praise Jesus Christ for 
being executed, and condemn the Jews for doing it. 

The people by hearing all this nonsense lumped and 
preached together, confounds the Intelligence God with 
the imagined man God of the Christians, and lives as 
if there were none. 

Of all the systems of religion that ever were in- 
vented, there is none more derogatory to Intelligence, 
more unedifying to mankind, more repugnant to rea- 
son, and more contradictory in itself, than this thing 
called Christianity. Too absurd for belief, too impos- 
sible to convince, and too inconsistent for practice, it 
renders the heart torpid or produces only fools and 
fanatics. As an engine of power, it serves the purpose 
of despotism; and as a means of wealth, the avarice 
of priests ; but so far as respects the good of the hu- 
man race in general, it leads to nothing here or here- 
after. 

The only religion that has been invented, and that 
has in it every evidence of divine originality, is in the 
reverence of the Infinite Intelligence God and the re- 
ligion of The Great Moral Way ; recognizing only one 
existence of a human being. It must have been the 
first, and will probably be the last, that the human 
race believe. But the great true and moral religion 
does not answer the purpose of despotic governments. 
They cannot lay hold of religion as an engine, but by 
mixing it with human inventions, and making their 



FACTS^ TRUTHS AND REASONS. 217 

own authority a part; neither does it answer the avar- 
ice of priests, but by incorporating themselves and 
their functions with it, and becoming, Hke the gov- 
ernment, a party in the system. It is this that forms 
the otherwise mysterious connection of church and 
state; the church human, and the state tyrannic. 

Were mankind impressed as fully and strongly as 
they ought to be with the belief that Infinite Intelli- 
gence is God, their moral life would be regulated by 
the force of that belief; they would stand in awe of 
God and of themselves, and would not do the things 
that could not be concealed from either. To give this' 
belief the full opportunity of force, it is necessary that 
it act alone. 

But when, according to the Christian trinitarian 
scheme, one part of God is represented by a dying 
man, and another part, called the Holy Ghost, by a 
flying pigeon, it is impossible that belief can attach it- 
self to such wild conceits. 

The book called the book of Matthew says (iii, 16) 
that the Holy Ghost descended in the shape of a dove. 
It might as well have said a goose ; the creatures are 
equally harmless, and the one is as much a nonsensical 
lie as the other. Acts ii, 2, 3, says that it descended in 
a mighty rushing wind, in the shape of cloven tongues ; 
perhaps it was cloven feet. Such absurd stuff is only 
fit for tales of witches and wizards. 

It has been the scheme of the Christian church, and 
of all the other invented systems of religion, to hold 
the people in ignorance of the real and only God (In- 
telligence), as it is of government to hold them in 
ignorance of their rights. A system of the one are as 
false as those of the other, and are calculated for mu- 



218 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

tttal support. The study of theology, as it stands in 
Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is found- 
ed on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds 
by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate 
nothing, and admits of no conclusion. Not any thing 
can be studied as a science without our being in pos- 
session of the principles upon which it is founded; and 
as this is not the case with Christian theology, it is 
therefore the study of nothing. 

Instead, then, of studying theology, as is now done, 
out of the Bible and Testament, the m.eanings of which 
-books are always controverted, and the authenticity of 
which is disproved, it is necessary that we refer to the 
Bible of true religion, The Great Moral Way. The 
principles we discover there are eternal, and of divine 
origin; they are the foundation of all the science that 
exists in the world, and must be the foundation of the- 
ology. 

We can know God only through the teachings of 
Infinite Intelligence. We cannot have a conception of 
any one attribute but by following some principle that 
leads to it. We have only a confused idea of infinite 
power and force if we have not the means of compre- 
hending something of their immensity. We can have 
no idea of what Infinite Intelligence can and does ac- 
complish but by knowing the order and manner in 
which it acts. The principles of science are eternal 
and infinite, and it. is through that medium that the 
human race can see God, as it were, face to face. 

Could the human race be placed in a situation, and 
endowed with the power of vision, to behold at one 
view, and to contemplate deliberately, the structure 
of the univcise; to mark the movements of the several 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 219 

planets, the cause of their varying appearances, the 
unerring order in which they revolve, even to the re- 
motest comet ; their connection and dependence on 
each other, and to know the system of laws establisiied 
by tlie Infinite Intelhrence God that governs and reg- 
ulates the whole; they would then conceive, far be- 
yond what any church theology can teach them, tlie 
power, the Intelligence, the vastness, the munificence 
of the scene. They would then see that all the Intelli- 
gence mankind has of science, and that all the mechan- 
ical arts by which they render their situation comfort- 
able here, are derivea from that source • so greatly ex- 
alted by the scene and convinced by the fact, would 
increase in gratitude as it increased in Intelligence ; 
their religion or their worship would become united 
with their improvement as a people ; any employment 
they followed that had connection with the principles 
that govern the universe, as everything of agriculture, 
of science, and of the mechanical arts have, would 
teach them more of God and of the gratitude they 
owe to God than any theological Christian sermon 
they now hear. Great objects inspire great thoughts; 
great munificence excites great gratitude ; but the 
groveling tales and doctrines of the Bible and the 
Testament are fit only to excite contempt. 

Though the human race cannot arrive, at least in 
this life, at the actual scene I have described, they can 
demonstrate it because they have the principles upon 
which the universe is constructed. We know that the 
greatest works can be represented in model, and that 
the universe can be represented by the same means. 
The same principles by which we measure an inch 
or an acre of ground will measure to millions in ex- 



220 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. ' 

tent. A circle of an inch diameter has the same geo- 
metrical properties as a circle that would circumscribe 
the universe. The same properties of a triangle that 
will demonstrate upon paper the course of a ship, will 
do it on the ocean, and, when applied to what are 
called the heavenly bodies, will ascertain to a minute 
the time of an eclipse, though those bodies are mil- 
lions of miles distant from us. The finite Intelligence 
is of divine origin, and it is from the Bible of all infini- 
tude that people have learned it, and not from the 
stupid Bible of the church that teacheth the human 
race nothing. 

The Bible-makers have undertaken to give us, in the 
first chapter of Genesis, an account of the creation ; 
and in doing this they have demonstrated nothing but 
their ignorance. They make there to have been three 
days and three nights, evenings and mornings, before 
there was any sun ; when it is the presence or absence" 
of the sun that is the cause of day and night — and what 
is called the rising and setting, that of morning and 
evening. Besides, it is a puerile and pitiful idea to sup- 
pose the Intelligence God in a loud voice says, "Let 
there be light." It is the imperative manner of speak- 
ing that a conjurer uses when he says to his cups and 
balls, "Presto! be gone" and most probably has been 
taken from it, as Moses and his rod are a conjuror and 
his wand. Longinus calls this expression the sub- 
lime ; and by the same rule the conjuror is sublime too ; 
for the manner of speaking is expressively and gram- 
matically the same. When authors and critics talk 
of the sublime, they see not how nearly it borders on 
the ridiculous. The sublime of the critics, like some 
parts of Edmund Burke's sublime and beautiful, is like 



PACTS, TRUTHS AND HEASONS. 221 

a windmill just visible in a fog, which imagination 
might distort into a flying mountain, or an archangel, 
or a flock of wild geese. 

All the learning mankind has of science and of ma- 
chinery, by the aid of which their existence is rendered 
comfortable upon earth, and without which they would 
be scarcely distinguishable in appearance and condition 
from common animals, comes from the great machine 
and structure of the universe. The constant and un- 
wearied observations of our ancestors upon the move- 
ments and revolutions of the heavenly bodies, in what 
are supposed to have been the early ages of the world, 
have brought this Intelligence to the human race. It 
is not Moses and the prophets, nor Jesus Christ, nor 
his apostles that have done it. The impulse of Infinite 
Intelligence is what drives and controls all the ma- 
chinery of the universe ; the first philosopher and orig- 
inal teacher of all science. Let us then learn to rev- 
erence our master, and not forget the labor of our 
ancestors. 

Had we, at this day, no knowledge of machinery, and 
were it possible that mankind could have a view, as I 
have before described, of the structure and machinery 
of the universe, they would soon conceive the idea of 
constructing some at least of the mechanical works we 
now have ; and the idea so conceived would progress- 
ively advance in practice. Or could a model of the 
universe, such as is called an orrery, be presented be- 
fore them and put in motion, their mind would arrive 
at the same idea. Such an object and such a subject 
would, whilst it improved their learning useful to them- 
selves as a people and members of society, as well as 
entertaining, afford far better matter for impressing 



222 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

them with a maxim of and a behef in, and of the rever- 
ence and gratitude that mankind owes to science, than 
the stupid texts of the Bible and the Testament, from 
which, be the talents of the preacher what they may, 
only stupid sermons can be preached. If priests and 
preachers must preach, let them preach something that 
is edifying, and from the texts that are known to be 
true. 

The Bible of science, right and justice — The Great 
Moral Way — is inexhaustible in texts. Every part of 
the science, whether connected with the geometry of 
the universe, with the systems of animal and vegetable 
life, or with the properties of inanimate matter, is a 
text as well for devotion as for philosophy — for grati- 
tude as for human improvement. It will perhaps be 
said that if such a revolution in the system of religion 
takes place, every preacher ought to be a philosopher. 
Most certainly; and every house of devotion a school 
of science. 

It has been by wandering from the immutable laws 
of science and the light of Facts, Truths, and Reasons, 
and setting up an invented thing called revealed relig- 
ion, that so many wild and blasphemous conceits have 
been the cause of the numerous Gods, or the numerous 
names for the one and only God. The Jews have made 
God the assassin of the human species, to make room 
for the religion of the Jews. The Christians have 
made God the murderer of God's self, and the founder 
of a new religion, to supersede and expel the Jewish 
religion. And to find pretense and admission for these 
things, they must have supposed God's power or God's 
Intelligence imperfect, or God's will changeable; and 
the changeableness of the will is the imperfection of 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 223 

the judgment. The philosopher knows that the fixed 
rules of all infinitude have never changed with respect 
either to the principles of science or the properties of 
matter. Why, then, is it to be supposed they have 
changed with respect to the human race? 

I here close the subject. I have shown in all the 
foregoing parts of this work that the Bible and Testa- 
ment are impositions and forgeries ; and I leave the 
evidence I have produced in proof of it to be refuted, if 
anyone can do it; and I leave the ideas that are sug- 
gested in the conclusion of the work to rest on the 
mind of the reader; certain, as I am, that when opin- 
ions are free, either in matters of government or re- 
ligion, truth will finally and powerfully prevail. 

It may be noticed that in revision, I have been 
changing the word of God all through, and on page 
169, Thomas Paine there admits that God has never 
at any time spoken in any language to any person that 
ever has inhabited this earth. The volition or impulse 
of God is all that has ever come from God to the 
human race, or ever v/ill come. It is repugnant to me 
to describe both halves of the human race (as man). 
Such disrespect to the feminine gender should not be 
countenanced, for such is the old out-of-date and dis- 
honorable style of writing; for all are equal in their 
sphere of life and action before God. The many sub- 
stitute names for God are inventions of priest and 
preachercraft (absurd), as there is only one eternal 
thing that can of right be substituted for the name of 
God, and that name is Infinite Intelligence, which is 
the greatest and most superlative attainment of all the 
eternal things. The eternal and fixed natural law of all 
finite and infinite things are based on the positive and 
negative principle ; where there is positive there must 



224 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

be a negative. The human race and all other animals 
on the earth have one finite existence, and the negative 
of finite existence is nonexistence. Therefore, there is 
no such thing as future existence, nor a heaven or a 
hell beyond this life. There can be no future existence 
except there is past existence, which is altogether too 
untenable to be considered. Therefore, true theology, 
true religion, are based on scientifically proven facts, 
truths and reasons (The Great Moral Way). There 
can be no such thing as creation, creator, supreme 
being, or man God ; for all the eternal things have a 
co-existence with the Infinite Intelligence God, where- 
in they could not have had a beginning or an end, but 
are all infinite, boundless, and forever beyond the limit 
of finite intelligence. There is such a thing as forma- 
tion of material that exist. But the words creation, 
creator, supreme being, and man God are myths, and 
are four of the world's greatest humbug lies : purely 
an invention of priest and preachercraft, for the pur- 
pose of robbing the misguided ignorant people of their 
earnings by sweat and toil. The most foolish, the 
most ludicrous, the most ridiculous, the most insane 
of anything to be found in old Hebrew and Christ- 
ian Bible is in applying gender to God (such a gush of 
ignorance), as though there could be he Gods, she 
Gods, sons of Gods, daughters of Gods. Such bum- 
fugle might have had some merit when Romulus and 
Phamelus were sucking the she wolf, or when Plato 
ran across the Mediterranean Sea on a fiery chariot, 
but not among the enlightened people of this day and 
time. Every person on this earth over twenty years 
old, that can read and write, know how babies are 
made to come on this earth, and Jesus Christ (if there 
was such a being) come by no other than in the same 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 22.5 

way, and any person that contends otherwise should 
be put in the insane asylum. 

If the baby Jesus Christ was made by the over- 
shadow of God (nicknamed holy ghost), then the baby 
calf, dog, and jackass are made the same way. The 
process being the same every time a baby is made and 
the same infinite law applies to all the animal kingdom. 
There is not now, nor never was, such a thing as holy, 
or ghost, only Priest and Priestcraft myths. Please 
remember to keep the beacon light of Facts, Truths 
and Reasons (The Great Moral Way) shining, showing 
the keynote burden, the greatest curse of the world — 
the two great barnacles of all mankind (the gamblers, 
the priests or preachers). The business of both are on 
the same hypothesis ; they both dress sumptuously, 
they both despise labor and both live off of the ignor- 
ance of the human race ; and first, and last, both a 
consummate nuisance, as lectures on the infinite laws 
of right and justice, and The Great Moral Way are all 
the people need. All people should strive to live useful, 
moral, and happy lives while they are permitted to 
inhabit the earth : not on false hopes of a life after 
death, for such are inventions of Priest and Preacher- 
craft to get money out of ignorance, there being no 
such thing as existence after death — all a myth. We 
desire to have the assistance and support of the learned, 
scientific, intelligent people in placing this book 
among all the nations of the earth, for the purpose 
of removing error and dogmatic superstition, and there- 
by increase intelligence and the betterment of the 
human race. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, M. D., 

Clarksburg, Missouri. 
Reviser and Modernizer of Thomas Paine's 
"Age of Reason." 



NEW JERUSALEM. 

That part of the Christian religion embraced in St. 
John's Revelations (Chapter 21) shows the Mythical 
Heavenly and Holy Jerusalem to be, as measured by 
the angel v^ith the golden reed, 12,000 furlongs (1,500 
miles) square on the foundation and 1,500 miles high, 
containing 3,375,000,000 square cube miles. Each cube 
mile contains 110,398,464 ten-foot square cube rooms, 
after deducting one-fourth for passageways and ven- 
tilation; and the whole structure of the Hol}^' and 
Heavenly Jerusalem would be 792,000 ten-foot stories 
high, and would contain 372,595,069,125,000,000 ten-foot 
square cube rooms, after deducting one-fourth for pas- 
sageways and ventilation. Except jasper (red gran- 
ite) there is not enough of the other stones mentioned 
to lay one foundation, much less the other eleven. All 
the human wealth, energy and resources of the entire 
Earth could not level up and lay the foundation for 
such a structure in ten thousand years. Then, again, 
the walls as given would be less than 254 feet thick. 
When the weight and height of the structure is con- 
sidered, the outside walls should be from 10 to 50 
miles thick and the inside walls should be in the same 
proportion. If such a structure should be made or 
descend out of infinite space and sit on the earth, it 
would change the equilibrium of gravitation attraction, 
causing the poles of the Earth to move toward the 
newly added structure, and the oceans on the opposite 
side of the Earth to move to and around the said New 
Jerusalem until only about eight miles of the top sto-' 
ries would remain above ocean, with the greater part 

226 



NEW JERUSALEM. 227 

of what was left about 1,000 degrees below zero — a 
lovely layout. Old John must have gotten tired while 
watching the angel measure the fovs sides of the heav- 
enly abode, even if it was only 6,000 miles around it ; 
and old John must have gotten cold, tucked away like 
a bedbug under the wing of the angel, while he -soared 
away 1,500 miles to the top story of the New Jerusa- 
lem and measured back to the Earth again. As angels 
are wholly imaginary beings, no eating or sleeping 
was necessary; and as old John dreamed out the whole 
big lie in one night's sleep while drunk on sacramen- 
tal wine. Then to hear the Bible Christian, man-god 
worshippers sing! — 

"Jerusalem, my happy home, 
When shall I come to Thee? 
When will my sorrows have an end? " 
Thy joys when shall I see?" 

Such a gush of ignorance ! 

Revelation all through outlines a masculine heaven, 
a heaven of stags. No families, no women — all he's ; 
no marriage (Math. 22 :30) ; no calling only to glorify 
a man-god that showed his rear end to Moses ; for no 
Infinite God can be glorified or assisted. The Infinite 
God is perfection in all attributes and in all ways ; 
cannot be assisted nor influenced. All infinite benefits 
and assistance we receive from God is through the 
infinite powers, forces and laws that govern the uni- 
verse and all infinitude, would and does come to us, 
just as much, and just as great, and more without the 
Church and human worship, as with the Church and 
human worship. The Church and worship of God is 
the greatest curse that ever befell the human race — 
just barnacles fastened on to the human race by priest 



228 THF SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

and religious mongers. Ask a Christian man-god 
worshipper, priest or preacher about old John's Jeru- 
salem, and they always give the same answer: "It is 
only figurative." Now, reader, 1 know, and you know, 
that nothing can be figurative where the boundary or 
extent is given in fixed and stated measurements, as 
in furlongs, miles, feet and inches; and old John in- 
tended to have the people believe the whole cock-and- 
bull story, and all church members under priests and 
preachers of the Christian religion in their ignorance 
do believe it, and the people now, in their ignorance, 
believe it — and the priests and preachers are getting 
the full benefit of their ignorance. The difference be- 
tween the priest and preacher being only in length of 
tail-feathers. Such expressions as the size of a conti- 
nent, as great as an ocean, as boundless as infinite 
space, are figurative expressions ; but old John's big 
lies were not, nor were not intended to be figurative; 
but were written just as they are, and were intended 
to be believed in support of a future existence, with 
an eternal heaven of happiness for the church mem- 
bers, and an eternal hell of pain and torment for all 
that did not belong to the church, and contribute to 
the payrolls of the priests or preachers. The chap- 
ters before Chapter 21 were to prepare the way for 
the introduction of a future existence of happiness and 
torment, and Chapter 21 was to give the people an 
outline description of the heavenly abode forever and 
forever of those that belonged to the Church called 
the Redeemed ; and Chapter 22 was to outline the tor- 
ment of the unredeemed, and an exhortation to flee 
from God's wrath, and connect themselves with the 
Church and the payroll of the priests and preachers, 



NEW JERUSALEM 229 

which was the underlying object to be accomplished 
by old John's pretended Revelations, and that the 
whole of Revelations were constructed by a conclave 
of priests near the time of the Council of Nice, and 
were there worked into the New Testament to estab- 
lish a future existence in a great heaven and great 
hell beyond this life and an earthly existence, and 
thereby put the whole human race under the control 
of priestcraft as Church slaves to do their bidding; 
in other words, to be the slaves of the priests, as are 
now seen all over the Earth. Any laboring man or 
woman who gives their money to a priest or preacher, 
and thereby rob their children, should be cowhided. 
Every person should strive to be honest and upright 
in all their dealings with all the human race and follow 
only The Great Moral Way, which is the scientific 
ethics of all religious duty. The worship of God be- 
ing a nuisance and a misleading curse to the human 
race; God being perfect wherein nothing can be added, 
and all the Church worship of the Infinite Intelligence, 
Perfect God, has been for naught, and ever will be, as 
there is not now, nor never will be, a needy God; and 
any person that talks about helping God, or glorifying 
God, is either a fool or insane. The Infinite Intelli- 
gence God is perfect in all attributes and governed by 
infinite and imjnutable laws that never change. 



MAN'S GRExVTEST AND GLORIOUS ESTATE. 

Divinely planned wert thou, O Woman, 
By God's impulse to be the glory of man. 
If man be glorified even to the sky, 
Then alone to him art thou next as high. 

Not all thy glory covets in thy hair ; 
Through thy eyes ardent charms declare. 
Thy countenance doth irradiate the sight 
That fills the man w^ith supreme delight. 

The contour of thy face, the arch of thy brov^, 
The dimple of thy chin, the curve of thy nostrils, 
The curl of thy lips, t!:e shell-beauty of thy ears — - 
Slumbers of music there, until awakened by mystic 

spell. 
The taper of thy arms, the pink-tipped digits ; 
Thy shapely limbs and feet — all these and more 
Were carved by God Divine. For thou alone art 

perfect. 

Thy lips more beautiful than orchids 

And sw^eeter than crystals of honey. 

Thy teeth more handsome than pearls. 

Thy neck the duplicate of Venus. 

The fragrance of thy breath exceeds the perfume of 

roses ; 
For of all Nature's v^orks thou art God's masterpiece. 

230 



FACTS, TRUTHS AisD REASONS. 231 

Gifted thy tongue and voice alike 

To tame the savage beast 

Or lull the babe in slumber. 

By love born of inspiration. 

To interpret and translate 

The notes infinite in cadence sv^eet, 

To cheer the weary heart of man, 

That lead him in the ways of God. 

Since the discovery of thee, O Woman, 
And thy equal in loveliness of form, 
The many secret lines of thy beauty, 
In the unseen, may not be mentioned 
With the sense in culture of heart and mind, 
In purity of purpose, in beauty of speech. 

In depth of affection and heroic devotion 
Has only been by the woman companion ; 
God, who conceived and fashioned thee, 
Is acknowledged the Sculptor Supreme. 
Thou, fair daughter, art God's favored child 
Of the sex mater humanizer salvator — wondrous 

thought ! — 
Who reigns supremxC in the heart of man. 
For of thee it has been written, carved in stone, 
That it is not well for man to dwell alone. 



232 THE SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

In the human body there is about two hundred sixty- 
three bones ; about five hundred muscles. The alimen- 
tary canal is about thirty-two feet long. The amount 
of blood in an adult person averages thirty-tw^o pounds 
or about one-fifth of the entire weight of the body. 
The heart is about four inches in diameter and six 
inches long, beating seventy times a minute, 4200 times 
an hour, 100,800 times a day, and over 6,000,000 times 
a year. At each beat over two ounces of blood are 
thrown out, 180 ounces a minute, 600 pounds an hour, 
or about eighty tons per day. All the blood in the 
body passes through the heart every three minutes. 
This little organ, by its ceaseless industry pumps each 
day v^.hat is equal to lifting one ton 130 feet high. The 
lungs contain about one gallon of air at their usual 
degree of inflation, breathing on an average 1,200 times 
an hour. The aggregate weight of the brain of an 
adult male is three pounds and eight ounces ; of an 
adult female two pounds and four ounces. Each 
square inch of skin contains 3,500 sweating tubes or 
perspiratory pores. The nerve system is all con- 
nected with the spinal marrow, and their branches 
and ramifications embrace more than 10,000,000, to 
assist and safeguard the human body, enabling human 
beings in their sphere of action to perform their part 
as intelligence God decrees. Such is masculine man's 
perfection in form, to go forth to conquer, subdue and 
overcome earthly dif^culties, to make home possible, 
and the woman in her loveliness and beauty to bring 
happiness to both. But where is that eternal soul, 
that eternal heaven and hell (the priest's and preach- 
er's stock in trade ^all nil) ? Nothing but beguiling- 
deception and robbery. 



FACTS, TRUTHS AND REASONS. 233 

At Paisley, Scotland, in the year 1797, two men and 
four women were bound to stakes and burned alive 
for bewitching an eleven-year-old girl (Christin 
Shaw), who married a preacher, who likely superin- 
tended the disgraceful execution and at about the 
same time witches were being dragged to death in the 
city of Boston, tied to the rear end of carts. When 
as a fact there is not now nor never has been a witch 
on this earth. Millions of as good and great men 
and women as have ever inhabited this earth have been 
tortured and burned alive; all caused by the big lies 
in the Hebrew and Christian Bible. Why is it, that 
there are no witches now, nor no burning of witches? 
(School House.) 

Gifts by the people of the United States of North 
America for the year 1911 for all purposes (a grand 
total) were $2,593,746,695.00, which does not include 
private hand to hand gifts. The gifts to churches and 
church charities of $105,000,000, for which the greater 
part was for mercenary motives, to gain trade, and 
votes at elections. Gifts for science, education and 
general good were $154,874,695 (School House) (The 
Great Moral Way). 

Come all, and be unbound from the ecclesiastical 
yoke and be free men and women. Demand in full, the 
earnings of your toil, and be willing to concede the 
same to all others. A high standard of morals, and 
just conduct toward all the human race. Never en- 
courage obtaining wealth by dishonest means. Let 
facts, truths and reasons abide in your religion. (The 
Great Moral Way), which should be the guiding star 
of your life conduct. I seek no praise, nor offer any 
apology for writing and compiling this book. 



234 THF SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

The United States of North America had its birth to 
correct errors in English law, ignorance, tyranny and 
misrule of an English king, and from its small begin- 
ning has extended its east and south coast lines from 
the southeast corner of Maine to the Rio Grande, and 
its western boundary to 1,600 miles of the coast line 
on the Pacific Ocean, to say nothing about Alaska, and 
the many islands in the seas. The United States has a 
prestige in war, in peace, and in the marts of all na- 
tions, the equal of any and second to none, now, or ever 
has inhabited the earth, and honored at home and 
abroad by all nations, and jointly with the great Eng- 
lish nation, are destined to make the English language 
a world language, both in peace, war, literature and 
religion (The Great Moral Way). The people of the 
United States have within the past 100 years made 
more useful inventions than were made by the whole 
w^orld before in 3,000 years. No people in the United 
States can be prosecuted or punished for their religious 
belief and if such should be attempted it would cause 
riot and bloodshed. All that is or may be claimed for 
any religion is morality. Then, in all justice to human 
reason, and intelligence God, why should there be any 
objection to the adoption (The Great Moral Way) and 
preach morality, teach morality, act morality, live mor- 
al, act moral, and be moral, just and honest all for the 
best interest of your own life and, for those that come 
after you. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON SIMPSON, M.D., 

Clarksburg, Missouri, 

Reviser and Modernizer of Thomas Paine's 
'Age of Reason." 



KLONDIKE 



BY^ 



T. J, SIMPSON 



Published by 
T. J. SIMPSON 



235 



KLONDIKE. 



for Piano, Voice orVi<illn 



Thomas Jefferson Simpson 



Andante 




la . dies sure we'll cajl, sure as your born, sure as your born. Then well 




236 




we will wel . come, with shouts and joys Be . cause we are all gay bache.Ior boys. 




Tud.Ie lud.Ie dud.le du, tud.le lud.le dudJc loo, Tud-le lud.lo dud.Ie du dudle lum de day 




Te.te tatele dal la.dat tud.le lud.le dudle loo Te.te tatsle dat ta.dat tudle lumde day. 




237 



INDEX 

Page. 

Acts nor the Epistles of Paul first dates 400 after Christ 198 

About the Miraculous birth of Jesus Christ 8 

Abolish the man God and all saints 9 

A blunder would have served for a prophecy 78 

A mass of truth and as emanating from God 88 

And that he pursued them unto Dan 99 

A book of lies, wickedness, and blasphemy 107 

A cubit is 21 inches and 888/1000 of an inch 108 

All books in the Bible were written after the captivity. . 162 

And in all countries The Great Moral Way 211 

Accept and follow The Great Moral Way 64 

But why must the moon stand still. Ill 

Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son 146 

By the river of Babylon there we sit down 140 

Babylonian Captivity 133 

Burning of witches >. . . . 233 

Conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost 27 

Christ was to suffer in lieu of Adam 28 

Cans't thou by searching find out God 38 

Common Sense was written in 1775 and 1776 56 

Churchdum, Monkdum and Preacherdum 65 

Children Stoned to death for Stubbornness 98 

Conflicting Statements about the crucifixion 179 

.Called Moral virtues of religion, The Great Moral Way 190 

Credulity however is not a crime 207 

Christ last seen 188 

Distance to fixed stars 63 

David cured Saul with music 153 

Eve in her longing had eaten an apple 14 

Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven 126 

Ezekiel and Daniel were in captivity 163 

Ezekiel's prophecies false 165 

Elijah's Chariot was probably made of Salamander's 

wool 193 

Euclid's Elements of Geometry were written 90 

Fine record of Jesus Christ and Man 26 

Future existence denied by both Job and Solomon 80 

Facts, Truths and Reasons The Great Moral Way 224 

God had repented and changed God's mind 77 

Genesis is anonymous and without authority 102 

Genesis is not as old as Chronicles 104 

Genesis was written 800 years after the time of Moses. . 129 

(238) 



INDEX. 239 

Page. 

Genesis is not as old as Homer by 300 years 130 

Genealogy by Matthew and Luke 174 

God and the religion of The Great Moral Way 216 

Great objects inspire great thoughts 219 

God in a loud voice says let there be light 220 

God's Volition and Revelation 7 

Hear O ye heavens and give ear O earth 21 

Here you see from ten to fifty Gods 57 

Here the size of the Earth is given 60 

Have ye Saved all the women alive 105 

Here is an order to butcher all the boys 105 

Here follows a table of all the prophets 127 

Here it is shown that they could not add correctly 134 

Herod destroying all under two years old 178 

It has put the whole orb of Reason in the shade 40 

Ignorance commenced with the Christian System, 52 

Intelligence is the one and only God 4 

Impostors as Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Samuel 224 

I got me men singers and women singers 143 

Isaiah was a deceiver as all prophets were 148 

If credulity could swallow Jonah's story 166 

It may be so and then unimportant 171 

It was 400 after Christ that the Evangelist was written 196 

It is only the living grains that produce the next crop. . 206 

It is not Moses and the prophets nor Jesus Christ 221 

Jesus' Christ gave no account of himself 10 

Job's Book does not belong to the Bible 136 

Jeremiah prophesied for the cash in the job 149 

Jonah was three days and nights in the whale's belly.. 201 

Jonah was Christ and the whale is the grave 201 

Jonah was very angry with his God 169 

Kill every Male among the little ones 105 

Klondike Song 235 

Lemuel was not one of the kings of Israel 136 

Let the Priest and Preachers both be forgotten together 171 

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are all anecdotal...... 29 

Man's Greatest and glorious estate 230 

Michael and the devil disputed about Christ's body.... 189 

Mankind cannot make principles 41 

Mosaic account of Eve and the apple 59 

Mystery, Miracle and Prophecy 69 

Mystery is the antagonist of Truth 70 

Moses died there in the land of Moab 96 

Moses if his Negro Wife did not object 106 

Matthew and Luke one and probably both wrong 176 

Matthew was not the writer of Matthew. 184 

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John 177 



240 SIMPSON-PAINE COMBINATION. 

Page. 

Mark tells about Mary Magdalene's Devils 200 

Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and the Bible Prophets 209 

Morality is injured by distasteful company 212 

None of the Eternal Things never v/ere created. 49 

Not written by Moses, Joshua and Samuel 91 

Now the man Moses was very meek 94 

Not for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake 98 

Noah's Flood, The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 169 

New Jerusalem 226 

Opposed to National Religions in any form 5 

Oh that my head were waters 1 22 

O altar, altar thus saith the Lord 125 

Pure Moral ReMc^'on The Great Moral Way 121 

Prophesying is lying professionally 192 

Paine arrested for his religious opinions 81 

Paine's execut'on was ordered 86 

Returning Christ by aerial navigation 204 

Redemption by the Death of the Son of God 57 

Religion The Great Mcr:il Way considered as a duty... 71 

Satan's conversation with Eve 13 

Samzon ran off with the gatepost of Gaza 18 

Science is the only true ard real Volition of Gcd 53 

Sun and Moon standing still 91 

Saul went to seek his father's asses 114 

Saul, Samuel and the asses 119 

Samuel, Saul, David, Moses, Joshua. 1213 

Saul, David, and Solom.on 123 

Solom.on's Songs am.orous and fooli-h enough 142 

Shows the story of Jesus Chr'st to be false 172 

Seven hundred years after this foolish story was told.. 148 

Thomas Paine's letter to the United States of America. . 3 

Thomas Paine did not bel'eve the resiurrection. . , . . . . 11 

Their prayers are reproaches, their humility ingratitude 32 
They offer much love and adoration, and expect big 

returns 33 

They would gain m-ore by The Great Moral Way 35 

The only way to discover Intelligence God 36 

The best and true way, is The Great Moral Way 58 

The extent of Animal Life on the Earth 61 

There can be but one religion that is true 68 

The story of the whale swallowing Jonah 75 

The Devil flying away with Jesus Christ 76 

The Great Moral Way of right and justice 78 

The sea opened to let Alexander's army pass. 92 

The same as the Red Sea in Exodus for Moses 92 

The Lord said unto Moses, Moses said unto the Lord. ... 94 

The sun standing still on Mount Gibean Ill 

They utterly destroyed men, women and children 117 



INDEX. 241 

Page 

Two baskets full of children's heads 123 

The dead man revived and stood upon his feet 126 

Telling Joshua to take off his shoes 133 

The words of Agur, son of Jakeh, even the prophecy. . . . 138 

The Jews never prayed but when they were in trouble. . 138 

Those that look out of the window shall be darkened. . 141 

The mere person of pleasure is Miserable in old age... 142 

The Book the Bible is too ridiculous for criticism 154 

This man of God could tell a lie 156 

Take him and look well to him 157 

The fraud of the Christian churches not that of the Jews 159 

Thus saith the Lord make this valley full of ditches... 161 

The book of Luke got in by one vote only 194 

This is what never came to pass it is a lie 1j55 

The man God spake to the fish 168 

The fable of Jesus Christ as published 173 

The Rabbins decreed by vote the books of the Bible. . . . 195 
The Evangelists (Acts) were composed long after the 

Apostles 196 

The Nazarenes (first Christians) rejected the Epistles 

of Paul 198 

That a virgin shall conceive and bear a son 201 

There is but one existence of a human being 204 

Three frauds. Mystery, Miracle, and Prophecy 208 

The Jews made no converts, they butchered all 210 

True religion The Great Moral Way teaches the human 

race 214 

The Testaments to the human race are forgeries 215 

The Holy Ghost descended in the shape of a dove 217 

The principles of science are eternal and infinite 218 

The Bible of science, right and justice The Great Moral 

Way 222 

Truth will finally and powerfully prevail 223 

Universe, Universalum, Fixed Stars, planetary motion.. 61 

United States of North America 234 

Virgilius to be burned for saying the Earth was round. . 50 

What the human body is composed of 232 

Whore of Babylon 170 



APPENDIX. 

SIMPSON'S SANITARIUM. 

Clarksburg is located in the most healthy part of 
Missouri or the great West, being on the high table 
land between the Missouri and Osage rivers, and some 
250 feet above these rivers, where there is a healthful 
breeze of pure vital oxygenated air, free from sul- 
phurous and other poisonous and contaminating gases 
such as are given ofT from the locations of large cities. 
Surrounded by large smelting works for glass, iron 
and other metals, factories, machine shops, rolling 
mills, discharging sewage, waste and filth from street 
sweeping and cleanings, decaying vegetables and from 
flesh in the city and near-by graveyards, ofTal from 
stockyards, slaughter houses and stock car cleanings, 
and many other sources of filth, and were it not for the 
fact that the carbonaceous and other noxious gases are 
heavier than the air and settle down or near the sur- 
face of the ground where great quantities are drawn 
through the fire by chimney flues and smokestacks and 
destroyed, and in that way purify the air to some ex- 
tent, otherwise the health would be appalling, indi- 
cating that it is more healthy to sleep one or two 
stories above the surface, but in turn the chimney flues 
and smokestacks throw out a great quantity of soot, 
contaminating and mixing with the air and finding 
its way into lungs, germinating diseases of the lungs, 
trachea and bronchi, resulting in consumption and 
premature death. 



Consumption can be cured, says Dr. T. J. Simpson 
on consumption, written five years ago. 

Every cold, every cough, may mean consumption, if 
neglected.' If the cold or cough does not abate in four 
to six weeks by the treatment of the family physician, 
then a physician better posted on the treatment and 
cure of consumption should be engaged. A physician 
that can only palliate the disease is of no benefit ex- 
cept that the consumptive may be with family and 
friends a few days longer by such treatment, but death 
must be the result. Bronchitis, laryngitis, tonsilitis, 
tubercular meningitis, miliary tuberculosis, caseous 
phthisis (which is catarrhal pneumonia), tubercular 
phthisis. Fibroid phthisis, stenosis of trachea and 
bronchi are all consumption in its incipiency, develop- 
ing into phthisis pulmonalis. 

All the aforesaid diseases are so many roads or 
steps in the stairway that leads down to tubercular 
consumption and death. All are consumption ; all can 
be palliated, a great many can be cured. Hereditary 
consumption, complicated with scrofula, heart disease 
or other chronic ailments, or in tubercular consump- 
tion, that have progressed until the lungs have be- 
come hepatic, these must die. 

In all stages of consumption, bacilli exist in the 
sputa and in the expired air, establishing the fact that 
the disease is contagious. Furniture should be dusted 
and the floors swept while the rooms are well ven- 
tilated, and with a heayy veil over nose and mouth. 
The sputa should be on paper- and burned, and the ex- 
crement buried, and no other person should be al- 
lowed to occupy the same bed or room with a con- 
sumptive person. If these rules were strictly followed. 



deaths by consumption would be greatly decreased. 
Never use patent nostrums ; they only benefit the seller 
and not the user. There is not now, nor ever will be, 
any one mixture or prescription of drugs that will cure 
consumption, as the disease is always changing and 
the treatment has to be changed from time to time to 
meet the changes of the disease. 

The great drawbacks in the treatment of consump- 
tion are : 

First, they do not call a physician soon enough ; 
and, second, when they do call a physician, they do not 
call a physician, like myself, who makes the treatment 
of consumption a specialty and a success. 

The great cause of consumption, diabetes, rheum- 
atism, heart disease and other chronic afflictions, is by 
imperfect physical structure of the human organiza- 
tion, as the result of illogical mating in the marriage 
unions, contrary to the laws of human temperaments. 
If all marriage unions were made in accordance with 
the laws of human temperaments, the result would be 
greater perfection in the physical structure of the hu- 
man body, less disease, less doctor bills, greater happi- 
ness and longer life by an hundred fold. If the human 
race were so bred, there would not be so many people 
as now, but the most perfect would probably live and 
enjoy felicitously a happy life from 150 to 200 years, 
and they would have access and use of their accumu- 
lated experience and wisdom in inventions, arts and 
sciences, developing the comforts of life to that degree 
not now competent for the human mind to conceive. 
Criminals are bred and born criminals, rather to be 
pitied than punished. 



I have not after five years changed my mind in re- 
gard to the mating and breeding of the human race, 
more specially the Caucasian, or white race, contrary - 
to the laws of human temperament. When we can 
see right before our eyes the improvements that have ^ 
been made in the birds of the air, the domestic fowls, . 
the dogs, the hogs, the horses, the cattle, as well as ' 
the vegetable kingdom and the fruits, then turn our 
eyes on the great white race of mankind, the highest, : 
the greatest, the superlative animal that inhabits the 
earth, and see that there is no more Intelligence used 
or pains taken by the people in their mating and breed- 
ing than the common cur dog — just as they happen to 
meet or get acquainted. 

I know of my own experience two marriages where 
in mating the men and women were well formed 
physically, and healthy. In Number One, the mating , 
was properly done in accordance with the laws of Hu- 
man Temperaments. They had born to them sixteen J 
children, fourteen boys and two girls, and the father 
told me when his youngest child was nine years old, 
that separate and apart from his midwife bill, that for 
doctor or medicine he had never paid as much as ten 
dollars in all his married life ! that they had whooping 
cough, measles, mumps and other local troubles, but ^ 
that all the children were alive and healthy. 

Number Two had ten children born to them, all 
of which were weaklings and eight of which died with 
consumption before they were twenty years old, and 
the father and mother both caught the disease from 
the children, and they too died of consumption before 
they were forty years old. While the above two mar- 
riages as stated were facts, they are no doubt to some 



extent exceptions, but the tendency is strongly indi- 
cated that improper mating does produce consumption 
and other diseases and lowers the physical structure 
as well as the intellect of the human race. 

There should be a man at every county seat in the 
United States that is well versed in the laws of Hu- 
man Temperaments, where boys and girls, men and 
women, could go, and for a small fee he would write 
a good description of their future mate that would be 
the best adapted to them to become the father or 
mother of their children, and the effect on the people 
in three or four generations would be astounding. Un- 
der such a. system, when the young man or young- 
lady, single man or lady, went forth to seek their fu- 
ture wife or husband, they would select such a one as 
in their opinion filled the description best for their 
well-being and future happiness, and such as would be 
an improvement of the race and nation. It would not 
be necessary for every boy or girl to be a professor of 
the Laws of Human Temperaments and their bene- 
ficial or baleful effects. It is evident to all posted men 
and women that great benefits would redound to the 
people and the nation. It would lessen disease, sick- 
ness, sorrow, and afflictions of the people, and at the 
same time add to the beauty, symmetry of form, phy- 
sical strength, intellectual force of origination and in- 
ventive skill to the very pinnacle of human attainments 
for the benefit, well-doing and happiness of the human 
race. Then the people would have the full measure 
of Intelligence (God) within them, and would have at- 
tained to all the heaven they are entitled to on this 
earth or future eternity. To some it might seem more 



desirable to seek a mythical heaven beyond the grave- 
but for me, I prefer my heaven here on earth, from 
wAhich I never expect to go. I prefer to live in and on 
real things, and not in and on mythical expectations 
somewhere in the eternal unlimited infinitude. 

I do not use any prayers in my treatment of the 
diseased and afflicted. All of that kind of mythical 
medicine is entirely too thin to enter into any of my 
prescriptions. Prayer is a tenacious humbug, never 
has cured anyone, and never will. Aly medical skill 
in the treatment of disease is as a specialist. I do 
not do a general practice, and only do minor surgery. 
My treatment of consumption and many other dis- 
eases is my own discovery and not known to the med- 
ical profession, and by which I have had good success. 
Many of the diseases I treat by lotions applied exter- 
nally, aided by instructions. Many diseases can be 
cured by dieting aided by instructions. Some diseases 
can be cured entirely by instructions. While I make" 
a specialty of Throat, Lung, Asthma, Catarrhs, Facial 
Neuralgia, Sick Headache, Migraine, Ticdoreaux, 
Common or Granulated Sore Eyes, Sties, Felons, Pim- 
ples, Boils, Moles, Warts, Falling Hair, Baldness, Dys- 
pepsia, Diarrhoea, Gout, Skin Diseases, Rheumatics, 
Corpulency, Bowel, Stomach and Liver and Kidney 
Complaints, Varicocele, Hydrocele, Varicose Veins, 
Sebaceous, Fatty, or Granulated Tumors, cured with- 
out cutting or shedding a drop of blood, I do not pre- 
tend that I can cure every patient. If I did, the under- 
taker would be out of business. I do not treat Piles, 
Scrofula, Venereal or Syphilitic Diseases. I do not 
treat Female Diseases or act as an Accoucheur. The 



surrounding circumstances have greatly to do with 
treatment of many diseases : Indigestion, Stomach 
Trouble, Nervous Prostration, Hysterics, Neuralgia, 
Rheumatism, Heart Disease, Constipation, Torpid 
Liver, Insomnia, Headache, Sore Eyes, Eczema, as 
well as diseases of the throat and lungs. What is 
wanted is a healthy location, where the air is pure, 
away from large towns and cities, and away from all 
family and business cares, and not to be allowed to 
worry about anything. Worry is always dangerous 
to health, as well as procuring Intelligence for the bet- 
terment of the people and the race. Where you can 
have a good bed to sleep with a clear conscience, and 
get the best food, fresh from first hand, and money 
enough to pay for medical care, and other ordinary 
expenses, and put in your time in games, field sports, 
walking on the roads, gathering fruit, berries, fishing, 
hoeing in the gardens. The more light exercise the 
better, but not beyond their strength. Plenty houses 
and rooms to rent cheap. Fuel and provisions and 
board at half what it costs in the cities for the same 
accommodations. Get among new people, with new 
surroundings, leaving all family and business troubles, 
turmoils and strifes of your former lifetime as a blank, 
read new books, lay new plans, set up new theories. 
Let the dead past bury its own dead. Worry about 
nothing. The charges at the sanitarium will be rea- 
sonable both for treatment and personal accornmoda- 
tions. Your correspondence is solicited. Our reputa- 
tion as gentlemen for honesty, uprightness, square 
dealing and moral characters will stand investigation. 

T. J. SIMPSON, M. D., 
Clarksburg, Missouri. 



To Whom it may Concern : 

ALL WHO DESIRE 

The A^e of Reason 

By THOMAS PAINE, A. M. 

Just as he wrote it 

And Other Progressive Literature 



ADDRESS 

TRUTH SEEKER COMPANY 

62 Vesey Street, NEW YORK, N. Y. 



Publishers of high-class, progressive literature 
and works of merit that stand for the Facts, 
Truths and Reasons, and the betterment of the 
whole human race. The Great Moral Way. 



MAY 16 1912 



